Two people were arrested Tuesday after $600,000 worth of high-grade marijuana and three loaded handguns were found in their vehicles during separate but related traffic stops on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Lancaster County, police said.

State police said they found the marijuana and handguns after they pulled over two eastbound vehicles driven by Deborah Denise Finn, 50, of Austin, Texas, and Harland Dean Hendricks Jr., 45, of Eldorado, Calif.

Police gave this account in criminal complaints:

Shortly before 2 p.m. Tuesday, police saw a sport utility vehicle closely following a pickup truck on the turnpike. The pickup was towing a trailer with a boat.

The vehicles followed each other for several miles and made several lane changes together.

A trooper pulled over a Ford Excursion driven by Finn in Rapho Township for following another vehicle too closely.

A Ford F350 pickup truck driven by Hendricks continued traveling east on the turnpike.

Finn told a trooper that she was headed to New Jersey and was not traveling with the pickup.

The trooper contacted another trooper and told him to look for a truck hauling a boat trailer with a Texas license plate because he believed the two vehicles had been traveling together.

Finn then told the trooper that she was headed to Massachusetts.

The trooper smelled marijuana coming from within the SUV.

He asked Finn if there were any drugs, guns or money in her vehicle and she said she had three handguns in the vehicle for personal protection as well as $15,000 to $30,000 in cash for foot surgery she was going to get in Massachusetts.

She consented to a search, and police found large bundles of money in a paper bag, some of which had been vacuum-sealed, and three loaded handguns.

Finn said she did not have a permit to carry the guns.

Police also found two packages of rolling papers.

Prior to the search of Finn's vehicle, another trooper reported that he located the truck pulling the boat trailer, and he pulled it over for traveling 74 mph in a 65 mph zone.

The driver, Hendricks, told him that he was traveling to New Hope to visit a friend and go fishing. He also said his wife was traveling in a Ford Excursion behind him and was going to New Hope, too.

Hendricks said his wife was going to have foot surgery and the deductible for the surgery would only cost $5,000.

The troopers shared the couple's stories and then police searched Hendricks' truck and found a large bag containing several bags of marijuana.

Police obtained a search warrant for the pickup truck and found 200 pounds of high-grade "hydro" marijuana, with a street value of at least $600,000, police said.

Police said the marijuana is the highest quality available in the country.

It sells at a minimum of $3,000 per pound on the street because of the way it's grown, using hydroponics, police said.

The hydro marijuana can't be grown in a field in Mexico, and Finn and Hendricks likely got it in California.

Police also found multiple Ecstacy pills, a personal-use amount of marijuana, a glass smoking bowl, a small baggie containing suspected MDMA, a gun cleaning kit, two vacuum sealer machines and several vacuum bags, they said.

Hendricks had about $3,000 in his jacket pocket.

Police said they had no prior information about the two vehicles being involved in drug trafficking before the Finn traffic stop.

A trooper said police believe Finn and Hendricks may not be married but may be boyfriend and girlfriend.

They are not cooperating with the investigation, police said.

Finn and Hendricks were both charged with possession with intent to deliver marijuana, conspiracy, possession of drug paraphernalia and firearms violations, police said.

Hendricks also was charged with possession of drugs.

Both were arraigned and committed to Lancaster County Prison after each did not post $100,000 cash bail, police said.

rrobinson@lnpnews.com