GRAND RAPIDS, Man. - A number of semi-trailer truck drivers used their rigs to block a northern Manitoba highway as they waited for police to arrive and arrest a man who the RCMP says was threatening to shoot people.

Witnesses say the man was becoming increasingly violent as he stood in the middle of Highway 6 last Saturday morning, about 70 kilometres north of Grand Rapids.

Mounties say although the witnesses didn't see him with a gun, he became increasingly violent and started punching and banging his head against a truck window while uttering threats at the driver.

He refused orders from officers arriving at the scene to get off the road but he was eventually arrested without injury.

An investigation found that the man had been travelling with a woman in a vehicle discovered about a kilometre away that contained a knife and some illegal pills, while the woman was found to be carrying methamphetamine.

Raymond Vidler, a 44-year-old Brandon, Man. resident, is facing weapons and drug charges while charges are pending against the woman.