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Aaron Bernard Johnson, 27, of Philadelphia, was charged with possession with intent to deliver cocaine in a drug-free school zone, police said.
Manheim Township police said they stopped Johnson's westbound car on Route 30 near Park City Center for an expired registration and illegal window tinting about 12:30 p.m.
A township police dog was brought in to examine the car, and the canine discovered a loaded semiautomatic handgun and about one pound of cocaine hidden inside the car, police said.
"We specifically target Route 30 and Route 222 for drug interdiction because we know that a lot of drugs comes through Manheim Township on those arteries," township police Sgt. Thomas E. Rudzinski said. "We want to stop the flow of drugs."
The cocaine has a bulk value of $15,000 to $18,000 and would sell on the street for more than $100,000, police said.
The 499 grams of cocaine is the most township police have seized in a traffic stop "in recent memory," Rudzinski said.
Township officers have received specific training that helps them to determine when illegal drugs may be in a car, Rudzinski said. How the driver is talking and his answers to certain questions are among the things that can provide clues to officers.
The Lancaster County Drug Task Force assisted in the search and seizure of the drugs and the car, police said.
Johnson was driving near a learning center at Park City Center in a drug-free school zone, Rudzinski said.
Johnson was arraigned before District Judge Jene Willwerth and sent to Lancaster County Prison in lieu of $100,000 cash bail.
