BUENOS AIRES — A former Missouri high school valedictorian was arrested after allegedly bringing a large supply of the party drug known as “poppers” into Argentina in his luggage — a haul sources described as potentially the biggest customs seizure of the substance on record.
Braiden John Wilson, 27, was stopped by Argentine customs officers at Ezeiza International Airport in Buenos Aires on Sept. 13, 2024, with roughly half a gallon of butyl nitrate, a chemical compound inhaled for its short-lived euphoric effect.
The previously unreported case surfaced as Wilson, once a standout student in Bismarck High School’s class of 2017, wrapped up what amounted to a favorable probation agreement last week.
According to court documents, the substances — illegal in Argentina and classified in the United States as “hazardous inhalants” barred from sale for human consumption — were packed in 55 vials bearing labels such as “Rush,” “Gold Rush” and “Jungle Juice.”
“I like to use them socially,” Wilson told authorities after he was detained, the documents state. “I had absolutely no intention of selling them or smuggling them, which is why I did not have them hidden.
“You can buy them in any store and online. Poppers work very quickly — as soon as you open them, they evaporate, which is why I had several bottles,” he said.
Court records also show Wilson was carrying five iPhones and cash at the time. Authorities confiscated the phones along with $1,201.
Wilson, 27, told customs agents he had traveled to Argentina to attend a friend’s birthday celebration.
Official sources told The Post that it is by far the largest confiscation of poppers by Argentine customs officers in recent years, with most of the 76 seizures in the last two years typically ranging from one to five vials.
Wilson was charged with attempted smuggling of drug contraband and would have faced a three-year suspended prison sentence and strict monitoring if he was found guilty at a trial.
However, the child prodigy, who currently lives in New York City, struck a sweetheart probation deal that ordered him to pay a $1,200 donation to a public children’s hospital in Buenos Aires and $300 in reparations.
Still, Wilson had to be ordered to appear in court on August 11 after forking over just $400.
In yet another sweetheart deal, he reached a new agreement to use the cash seized during his arrest after he argued that he was facing financial hardship.
The court signed off on the deal on August 28.
Butyl nitrate is a fast-acting substance, which, when inhaled, widens blood vessels and produces mild euphoria, dizziness and muscle relaxation.
Its recreational use is believed to be potentially dangerous for those with heart issues, anemia or glaucoma, and reported adverse effects include fainting, loss of vision and damage to the retina.
It wasn’t the first fall from grace for the one-time wunderkind.
Wilson ran into trouble with the law in May of 2017 — the year he graduated as valedictorian — when he was charged with ripping off his former employer, department store chain JCPenney.
The then-teen was accused of stealing over $2,000 through fraudulent returns at the store where he worked in Farmington, Missouri — admitting to investigators that he thought he deserved the cash, Fox 2 Now reported at the time.
“The reason he gave, his indication was that he felt like he was treated poorly by management and that he was entitled to or owed the items he took,” St. Francois County prosecuting attorney Jerrod Mahurin told the outlet.
Wilson pleaded guilty to misdemeanor theft in May 2018 and was handed a suspended 180-day jail sentence, two years of unsupervised probation, and ordered to pay costs, court records show.
The Post reached out to Wilson to ask for comment but did not hear back.
