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Jabari Brown is free. But the story isn’t over.
Brown — known online as “Captain Treezy” — won a $2.4 million Hawker 400XP private jet by beating 99 other pilots in MrBeast’s “100 Pilots Fight For A Private Jet” YouTube challenge back in 2025. It was a big win, the kind that goes viral fast. Now his name is attached to something far messier: a drug trafficking investigation in Paraguay that briefly landed him in detention at a local hotel near Asunción.
He was released June 1.
What Actually Happened at Silvio Pettirossi Airport
The aircraft at the center of the seizure wasn’t the jet Brown won. Worth being clear on that. The plane flagged by Paraguayan authorities was a Bombardier Challenger 604 — a completely separate aircraft that had stopped in California, Miami, and Panama City before touching down at Silvio Pettirossi International Airport on May 30. Brown’s prize, the Hawker 400XP, wasn’t involved.
Paraguay’s National Anti-Drug Secretariat, known as SENAD, found roughly 261.6 kilograms of marijuana stashed on the Challenger 604. That’s about 577 pounds. Authorities valued the shipment at approximately $3.6 million. The marijuana was described as a high-potency variety, and investigators believe it was headed for Brazil.
Three American passengers on that flight were arrested on drug trafficking charges: Marisol Rivas, Troy Anthony Vásquez, and David Thomas Wise. All three remain in custody. Brown was picked up separately, later that same day, at a hotel. Different location, different timing — and ultimately, a different legal outcome.
Brown’s Release and the Keith Siilats Connection
Prosecutors found no evidence tying Brown to the drug shipment. He cooperated with investigators and handed over flight logs, and that cooperation seems to have made the difference. He walked out on June 1.
The investigation, though, keeps going. Authorities are now focused on the Challenger 604’s custody chain — who controlled it, who booked it, who flew it, and how the marijuana got loaded. The aircraft was reportedly operated by Keith Siilats, an Estonian entrepreneur and co-founder of the now-defunct Bolt Mobility. Siilats reportedly left Paraguay on a commercial flight before SENAD conducted the seizure. That timing is going to raise questions. Investigators are working to figure out exactly where he fits into the broader trafficking network, if at all.
Rivas, Vásquez, and Wise aren’t going anywhere soon. Their pretrial detention signals that Paraguayan prosecutors see the charges as serious — and they probably are.
Paraguay’s Role as a Drug Transit Hub
None of this happens in a vacuum. Paraguay has become a well-known transit point for narcotics moving out of South America toward Brazil and, further on, toward European markets. Authorities there are under real pressure to crack down, and a seizure involving a private jet with American passengers and international flight stops lands exactly in the middle of that pressure.
The multi-country route the Challenger 604 took — California to Miami to Panama City to Asunción — is the kind of path that catches investigators’ attention. It’s not unusual for traffickers to use complex routing to obscure origins. Whether that’s what happened here is still unclear. No final conclusions yet.
And the broader network question is probably the most important one. Seizing the drugs is one thing. Tracing who arranged the shipment, who paid for it, and who was supposed to receive it in Brazil — that’s harder work, and it’s where the investigation is now focused.
Brown’s connection to MrBeast, meanwhile, has kept the story in the spotlight longer than it might otherwise have stayed. There’s no indication MrBeast himself has any involvement in any of this. But MrBeast has faced separate scrutiny recently over crypto dealings and token endorsements, so his name carries extra weight right now, and anything connected to him gets amplified fast.
As of June 1, Brown is out. Rivas, Vásquez, and Wise are not. The Challenger 604’s chain of custody is still being picked apart by SENAD. Siilats’ whereabouts and legal status remain unclear. And the investigation into the broader trafficking network tied to that $3.6 million marijuana shipment is still very much open.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which plane was found with drugs at Silvio Pettirossi Airport?
The Bombardier Challenger 604 — not Jabari Brown’s prize Hawker 400XP — was the aircraft carrying roughly 261.6 kilograms of marijuana valued at approximately $3.6 million.
Why was Jabari Brown released after his detention in Paraguay?
Prosecutors found no evidence linking Brown to the marijuana shipment; he cooperated with investigators and provided flight logs, leading to his release on June 1.
