MrBeast Jet Winner Detained, Released in Massive $3.6M Paraguay Drug Bust

​An American viral sensation found himself at the center of an international drug trafficking probe this weekend after Paraguayan authorities intercepted a private jet loaded with hundreds of pounds of contraband.

​Jabari Brown, the 20-year-old Jamaican-American pilot who rocketed to internet fame after winning a $2.4 million private jet in a MrBeast YouTube challenge, was arrested in Asunción on Sunday night. However, following a whirlwind 24 hours in custody, prosecutors completely cleared the young aviator of all charges, concluding he was entirely unaware of the illicit cargo.

​From YouTube Fame to a Foreign Jail

​Brown, known online as “Captain Treezy,” became a household name within the aviation community after outlasting 99 other pilots in MrBeast’s high-stakes “100 Pilots Fight For A Private Jet” competition. That victory earned him a Hawker 400XP luxury aircraft.

​However, the drama that unfolded over the weekend involved a different aircraft entirely. Brown was acting as a contracted co-pilot on a Bombardier Challenger 604 that touched down at Silvio Pettirossi International Airport near Asunción on Friday, May 30. The cross-continental flight had previously made stops in California, Miami, and Panama City.

​Upon the plane’s arrival, agents from Paraguay’s National Anti-Drug Secretariat (SENAD) conducted a sweep and discovered 261.6 kilograms (approximately 577 pounds) of marijuana packed into suitcases. Authorities estimate the street value of the seized narcotics at $3.6 million.

​The Crackdown and Direct Release

​While the luxury cargo was seized on Friday, the investigation quickly moved to a local hotel in Asunción on Sunday night, where Brown and three other U.S. nationals—identified as Marisol Rivas, Anthony Vásquez, and David Thomas Wise—were placed under arrest.

​The primary pilot of the aircraft, an Estonian entrepreneur named Keith Siilats, reportedly managed to board a commercial flight out of Paraguay before SENAD agents discovered the drugs. An international warrant has since been issued for Siilats’ arrest.

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​Fortunately for Brown, his time behind bars was short-lived. On Monday, June 1, prosecutors officially ordered his unconditional release. Investigators confirmed that as a strictly contracted co-pilot for the charter, Brown had zero knowledge of the $3.6 million stash hidden inside the passengers’ luggage.

​”He was just doing his job,” a source close to the investigation noted, confirming that Brown’s role was strictly limited to flight operations.

​While the “Captain Treezy” star is free to return home with his reputation intact, the remaining three American passengers have not been as fortunate. They remain in pretrial detention in Paraguay as the international smuggling investigation widens.