The pilot who won a MrBeast private jet arrested in $3.6m drug bust

Jabari Stephan Brown, a 21-year-old pilot who gained internet fame after winning a private jet in a MrBeast challenge video, was briefly detained in Paraguay after authorities intercepted a private aircraft carrying more than 261 kilograms (about 577 pounds) of high-THC marijuana. Paraguayan officials estimate the wholesale value at approximately $3.6 million in Brazil, reportedly the plane’s final destination, according to the Associated Press.

Paraguay’s National Anti-Drug Secretariat, known as SENAD, announced that authorities intervened at a hangar inside Silvio Pettirossi International Airport in Luque, just outside the capital of Asunción. Agents moved in as several suitcases were being unloaded from a private jet into a waiting vehicle. While early flight logs indicated the aircraft arrived from Miami with a stopover in Panama, SENAD officials noted the complete flight path originated in California.

Paraguayan authorities released Brown from custody on June 1 after determining there was insufficient evidence to support a continued suspicion of drug trafficking against him, prosecutor Ingrid Cubilla told reporters. Cubilla confirmed that Brown, known online by his aviation moniker “Captain Treezy,” fully cooperated with investigators, handed over flight logs, and explained he had been hired strictly as a co-pilot with no knowledge that marijuana was packed into the luggage.

His MrBeast fame put a spotlight on the case

The incident drew international attention because of Brown’s high-profile history with MrBeast. Brown emerged victorious in MrBeast’s viral December 2025 video, “100 Pilots Fight For A Private Jet,” outlasting 99 other contestants to win ownership of an executive aircraft. MrBeast has faced previous legal controversies involving his productions, though those matters are entirely separate from Brown’s situation.

While Brown was released, prosecutors formally filed international drug trafficking charges against the remaining three passengers on board, all of whom are U.S. citizens: Marisol Rivas (39, New York), Troy Anthony Vásquez (42, Florida), and David Thomas Wise (58, California). None of the three has publicly responded to the charges, and their side of events has not been presented in available reporting.

Investigators are also seeking an Estonian technology entrepreneur, Keith Siilats, who was listed as the flight’s primary pilot and aircraft operator. Siilats reportedly managed to board a commercial flight out of Paraguay hours before SENAD conducted the weekend raid, according to MercoPress South Atlantic News Agency. Regional authorities have stepped up enforcement actions tied to drug trafficking in South America in recent months.

Paraguay’s anti-drug secretariat confirmed that the aircraft intercepted during the raid was a leased Bombardier Challenger 604, Estonian World reported, ruling out any connection to his MrBeast-related winnings. The high-potency cannabis seized in the operation commands a price of roughly $14,000 per kilogram in neighboring Brazil, according to SENAD officials.