The National Anti-Drug Secretariat (SENAD) intercepted a jet arriving from Miami, United States, on Saturday carrying approximately 261 kilograms of premium marijuana and detained several American citizens in a raid at a private hangar at Silvio Pettirossi International Airport in Luque.
The action was conducted under the Colibrí Program, an interagency cooperation initiative that brings together SENAD, the Paraguayan Air Force, the National Directorate of Civil Aeronautics (DINAC), the DNIT, and the National Police, with the aim of strengthening controls against drug trafficking.
The result was possible thanks to intelligence work and information sharing that made it possible to detect the arrival of the aircraft, which had made a prior stopover in Panama. Agents intervened at the moment several suitcases were being unloaded from the jet to be transferred to a ground vehicle bound for a location in Asunción.
Four people were detained in total. Three of them — Troy Anthony Vásquez, 42, from Florida; David Thomas Wise, 58, from California — though some sources report his age as 57; and Marisol Rivas, 39, from New York — were formally charged with international drug trafficking and unauthorized possession. A fourth suspect, Jabari Stephan Brown, 21, a well-known TikTok content creator and the aircraft's co-pilot, was detained but reportedly not charged after cooperating with investigators. All were taken to give statements before prosecutor Ingrid Cubilla.
The seized marijuana was a premium cannabis variety from the United States characterized by its high THC content. According to estimates by the Brazilian Federal Police, the drug could fetch up to 14,000 dollars per kilogram on the Brazilian market, representing an estimated economic loss of around 3.6 million dollars for the criminal organizations involved.
The pilot and owner of the jet, identified as Keith Siilats, a U.S. tech entrepreneur and co-founder of Bolt Mobility (a U.S. micromobility company unrelated to the Bolt ride-hailing app used in Paraguay), was not found and is believed to have left Paraguay hours before the seizure. Siilats has denied any knowledge of the illicit cargo in his own public statements, but this claim has not been independently verified. The aircraft, a Bombardier Challenger registered N116HL, was seized at the private hangar where it was parked.
The investigations also made it possible to identify other members of the aircraft's crew, who are reportedly American and Estonian nationals. Authorities are continuing efforts to locate them, as well as to determine the logistics network used in transporting the cargo and the possible intended recipients of the drugs.
The operation was carried out in coordination with prosecutor Ingrid Cubilla, and investigations continue to fully clarify the case and identify all those responsible.
Paraguay is known as a transit route for international drug trafficking due to its strategic geographic location between producing and consuming countries, making operations like this significant in the regional fight against narcotics trafficking.