Sheriff Mark Dannels described a high-speed pursuit and subsequent arrest last week that he said involved a smuggling vehicle, multiple firearms and drugs.

Dannels told listeners on KWCD's First Watch that he encountered the vehicle while returning home and observed high-speed driving and a helicopter tracking the suspect. After blocking an intersection to protect other motorists, he said the vehicle stopped at a restaurant entrance, then began moving again. He said he initiated a high-risk stop and the two occupants exited the car in a way he described as confrontational.

"I could see something in the driver's front sweatshirt... he had a weapon," Dannels said, adding that he ordered the man to stop and warned, "you go for that and I will shoot you." He said backup units and the helicopter arrived, and deputies took both people into custody.

Dannels described finding a handgun on one suspect and additional weapons in the vehicle, including an AR-style rifle and a tactical shotgun, and said officers located drugs in the car. He said two nearby, elderly restaurant patrons were shaken by the encounter but were uninjured.

"These guys were armed to the tilt and, and obviously, when they confronted me, there was a lot going on," he said.

Dannels credited the interdiction officers and helicopter crew for the outcome and linked the arrest to the earlier discussion on funding. "This is the kind of people that are truly a threat to Cochise County. This is the kind of people, these, the grant money, the $1,900,000 I just talked about a few minutes ago, that's what pays for these interdictions," he said.

The sheriff spoke from his personal account on the radio program; no charges, booking details or case numbers were provided on-air. The sheriff did not identify the suspects by name or give exact locations beyond references to Ramsey Canyon Road, Hereford Road and a restaurant entrance near Highway 92.

Ending: Dannels warned residents that such smuggling incidents can put bystanders at risk and reiterated the importance of funding for interdiction work.