On a beautiful June morning in Arizona, a sheriff's deputy made a traffic stop on a Chevy Malibu on Interstate 40 in the direction of New Mexico. Little did he know at the time, but this traffic stop will lead to the largest meth bust in the department's history and extremely tense moments as the drug trafficker's heat vehicle began circling the area. >> [music] >> How's it going? I'm Deputy Smith I'm with the sheriff's office. The reason I pulled you over you got this obstruction of view, you crossed lanes twice without using a blinker, and you were following that car by just a couple of feet. >> It's all in here. >> I try to ask on every stop if there are any weapons in the vehicle, guns, knives, grenades, nothing like that. Okay. All right. Well, I I can just get you a written warning instead of a ticket for all that since you've already removed it and I can talk to you about using your blinker or whatnot. To have that in front of you? >> Yeah, it creates an obstruction of view. We have stuff that blow in front of the roadway all the time. >> Okay. Yeah, well, you're not going to get a ticket today. I can give you a warning. Can you come back to my vehicle? That way if I have any questions I'll just ask you during the stop. >> I'm coming. You're going to give me all of this stuff, man. I was doing great there for a minute. >> Yeah. >> I got a stupid metal wallet, man. >> It's all right. Take your time. >> Okay. >> The driver appears extremely nervous. >> All right. >> Okay. You can come back to my vehicle in there. And if you want to stand around in front of those doors, just got to pat you down and make sure you don't have any weapons. What's all this? All right. You have no other weapons? Can you just stand right in front of this window? >> Yes, sir. >> I'm going to roll it down and we can talk like I drove here. It's locked, so I got to go around. >> My daughter is a is a police officer up in >> Okay. I'm going to open this real quick. Open it all the way. Where's she a police officer? >> She's at Fort Bragg right now. >> Oh, really? >> Yes, sir. >> Military police? >> Yeah. She's coming home Friday, so >> Nice. Yeah. All right. And we're trying just to keep everybody's hands out of their pockets, so if you don't mind >> I got nothing. But you have seen the mess I got in there. >> Yeah. We just uh >> to put it back together. >> Okay. >> Yeah. I get to drive down and then the window blows sideways and you get to just just horrible. It's horrible to lose a kid. Lost my son. Hello. Yeah, I know. I'm getting a warning ticket right now. Anyway. I got a crack in my mirror. It's on my rear window. See that? Where is that little Where is my phone? >> It's probably in your car with all your other stuff. >> No, I thought I had it out. >> Who was calling? >> Uh my girlfriend is who I was talking to on the >> Oh, are you traveling with her? Yeah, she is. How did she know you got pulled over? >> She got pulled >> The deputy observed a vehicle traveling with the Malibu prior to making the traffic stop. This is often referred to as a heat vehicle, and the deputy is suspicious that it's actually the persons in the heat vehicle calling the driver. >> How long were you in uh How long were you in Las Vegas? >> Uh a couple days. >> A couple days? Did you do anything else while you were there? >> Just said hi to some old friends. I used to work there. >> Okay. What did you do in Vegas? >> Just that there. >> Where's Holiday, Florida? >> Uh just west of Tampa. Northwest. >> Do you like it back there, or do you miss Vegas? >> Well, you know what? The smell. You can smell it out here. And it's different. It's nice. >> I love Florida. >> Smells like dirt out here. >> Kind of, but the ocean doesn't smell that great, either. They've ruined the Gulf of Mexico by pouring all that damn uh I guess they put uh raw sewage from like concentrated there. >> Okay. Yeah. >> Now you got red tide, you can't even swim in the water. >> Yeah, it killed all the fish. >> Well, yeah, they kill some of them, and then the algae bloom, the red algae comes up. >> Yeah. >> It's like you can't even freaking breathe. >> are nasty. You can't even like go outside. I heard your face >> It burns your throat, and your nose burns your eyes. So, it's just a mess. I mean, I don't even go to the ocean anymore. >> Yeah. >> I got lupus, so I don't really I didn't really care to swim in it anyway. I get a If it gets a bug in it, then I'm I'm sick. >> Got you. >> Hey, baby. I'll call you back in a minute when I get on the road. Yeah. What What are you doing today? Yeah. >> We're clear you guys. >> Bye. >> Brown. >> Nice meeting you. Anyway. >> She's worried about you. >> Yeah, I know. Is her uh >> This is just a written warning. >> She um She likes to sleep till freaking noon. So. She worries about me. She worries about me. Oh. I tried not to smoke in the car. >> You do? >> Well, well, well, when the window was down. >> You You started lighting a cigarette as soon as you saw me. >> Well, I had the windows down. >> Okay. So, back there in the car, I could see that your hands were shaking. You lit that cigarette. You actually jumped back there. I'm just want to make sure that nothing is illegal in that car. Is there anything illegal in the vehicle? >> No, no, I ain't got nothing illegal. The only reason I did it is cuz I was having a coffee. I'm >> Okay. That seems pretty reasonable. Um is there anything in that vehicle that I need to know about? Any stolen items? Large amounts of cash? >> I got nothing. >> Nothing like that? >> I wish, man. >> Any illegal drugs? >> No, I got nothing. No illegal drugs. >> Nothing? >> Nothing at all. >> Nothing? Okay. I'm just going to go down the list, okay? Are there any prescriptions in there that's not yours? >> Nope. >> Is there any methamphetamine? >> Nope. >> Is there any cocaine? >> Nope. >> Is there any heroin? >> Nope. >> Is there any fentanyl? I got a 5018-6. Is there any large amounts of marijuana? >> No. >> Keep in mind marijuana is legal here in Arizona. >> a 5018-6. >> Does that help me? Okay. Was that us? >> 61. >> Okay. All right. Nothing's in the vehicle, right? >> Correct. >> Would you give me consent to search the vehicle? >> No. What do you want to search for? >> Huh? >> What do you want to search it for? >> Um >> I've got I've got nothing to hide, but there's no reason to search my car. >> So, you're saying no? >> Saying no. >> Okay. Pink tag. All right. Well, I'm going to just going to be a completely honest with you. At this point, we're outside of the the scope of the traffic stop. So, this is a detention at this point. I'm going to read you the Miranda warnings. You're not under arrest in any way, but >> detained I may be detained. >> I mean, a traffic stop is a detention, a form of detention. >> Yeah. >> Right now, since I'm holding you beyond the scope of the traffic stop. >> there's something in there or something? >> I believe you're hiding something from me. So, I'm going to read you >> I again? >> I'm going to read you the Miranda warnings, okay? >> Okay. >> You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. Do you understand these rights? >> Yep. I have a I have my son's uh pistol. >> Where is it at? >> It's in my bag in the front seat. >> Okay. I'm just going to I'm going to secure it, okay? >> That's fine. >> Yeah. Hold on. 2015. >> That's That's what I was driving. >> 2015 >> That will be 2015 >> You need 2015 >> All right, 2015 >> I got 21 2015 824 >> Sorry >> 2015 direct on 76 give me 21 when available >> I asked you about weapons in the car. >> I know I told you no. >> I was nervous 2015 1915 I'll give you a 21 if you lied about a weapon in the car. >> Copy >> Yeah, I'm going to search you. This is a search incident to arrest. You can't lie about a firearm. I asked you directly. >> I I know it. I just I was nervous about it. I was nervous about it. >> All right, well you know it's you can't do that. If you got a gun, that's okay. I just asked about it and you said no. >> I wouldn't even I didn't even think about it. >> So, at this point you're under arrest. This is called a search incident to arrest. >> Okay, no problem. >> Is there anything else in the car I need to know about? >> No. >> Nothing at all? >> Actually, yeah man. >> What? >> There's a bunch of [ __ ] in the car. >> [ __ ] it, I'm going to be honest. What is it? >> Meth. >> How much? >> It's just [ __ ] I don't I don't I don't know. I didn't I didn't put it in there. >> You didn't put it in there? >> Yeah, so I'm somebody else did. >> All right, well I appreciate the honesty. You helped me. That's what we're going to look at you. >> So, where you said you had something to hold over that weren't in the car. >> I'll get you cigarette. >> Thank you, man. >> Where's it at? >> It's right in my back pocket. >> Hold on, let's wait for Oscar to check. Just do the legalities and stuff. >> I'm just I'm just terrified right now, man. >> I understand you're terrified. You kind of put yourself in this situation. >> I had no choice, man. >> And why is that? >> I've lost my house. I've lost everything. >> How much do you think is in there? >> No idea. >> Just estimate. >> 100 lbs of meth. >> 100 lbs? >> You heard that right. The driver [music] estimates he has 100 lbs of meth in his trunk. >> Oh, yeah. >> Got a gun on the front seat. >> Can't see the license plate. >> He's nervous as [ __ ] Got 100 lbs of 100 lbs of meth with a gun, apparently. Yeah, when I tried to pull him over the first time, he actually jumped the [ __ ] out of me. >> Really? >> Jumped around a semi to the right. >> Did you Did you find him over at 292? >> So, that's when I first seen him. He lit a cigarette, jumped back and jumped. And then uh he uh jumped back off. So, I just came back eastbound a couple miles, saw him again. He saw me, and it's looking like a dog about to [ __ ] a piece of meth. He lit another cigarette. >> 950, I'm 97. >> Yeah, a bunch of violations all in a row. Huh? >> You guys already got him? >> Nope. I'm going to grab the gun. >> 932, 50 officer came out with a knife. >> What's that? >> Where is he? >> He's in the back. >> Open it up. >> It's been read Miranda. >> Okay. How you doing, K9 Divy Officer K9 Officer Sheriff's Office? My dog's trained to alert to four odors, okay? Cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, and >> Hang on a minute. Hang on a minute. I'm leaning on the seat. You need to call me up. >> So, my dog's trained to alert to four odors, okay? He's alerted to the vehicle. He's trained to alert to cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, and marijuana. Is there anything in the vehicle? >> I don't know. >> I I believe there's something in the trunk, yeah. >> How much is in the trunk? >> I I don't really know. >> Do you know what is in the trunk? >> I'm not I'm not 100% sure. >> Is it one of the four things I just listed? Which one do you think it is? Okay. All right, pink top meth, purple. Watch your feet. >> Can you leave that open like that cuz it makes my flight feel better? >> Can you pop the trunk? Yeah, bro. Yeah, buddy. I got Let's pop it. So, how do we get this and the car back? >> Is it all of them or all of them? >> We'll do it all at the office. >> Yeah. >> Just take a look and make sure that they all match the same. >> It's going to be the same. You can feel it. >> Yeah. >> They're all Tupperware. >> Are we driving the whole thing back? >> Yes. >> The deputies just found over 100 lb of meth, but the drama is just beginning as the deputies notice the heat vehicle making passes. >> Who did it? Hey, the heat vehicle just drove by. Heat vehicle just drove by. Does it have any dope in it? It's all his stuff? Was it the blue car? A blue charger? Is there any drugs inside that vehicle? No, they were just watching you with this one. >> Drug traffickers often travel with what's called a heat vehicle. This vehicle serves as a lookout and keeps an eye on the drug load. But they might also attempt to violently free the subject and their drug load. Deputies are taking no chances and prepare for a potential confrontation. >> Hey. That heat vehicle is going this way. >> Huh? >> That heat vehicle is going this way, so it's probably going to come back. So, just >> Just in case. Dodge Charger. It's a sedan. Looks like a Charger, but I don't know the make. Florida plates. >> Okay. >> They were both traveling together, but he actually dropped me. >> Copy that. >> At the traffic lights at Ken's this way. >> Let's remove the stuff on my passenger seat, cuz if he goes by again, I'm going to rip him. >> Okay. >> Fortunately, the heat vehicle made the smart decision to leave the area. >> All right, hop on out. This is not happening. Is this a 56 or a 57? >> Henry Paxton was arrested and charged with five felonies. In total, deputies seized over 124 lb or 56 kg of methamphetamine with an estimated street value of over $3 million. This massive amount of meth is a record bust for the Sheriff's Department. In May of 2026, Paxton entered a plea agreement and pled guilty to one count of transporting dangerous drugs. This would be consistent with Paxton keeping his word about cooperating with authorities. In the comment section, let us know what you think of this bust. >> [music] >> Like and subscribe to this channel to see more breaking body cam coverage like this. >> [music]