400-pound man hides crack cocaine in belly button

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, Fla. -- A 400-pound man faces a drug charge after Florida authorities plucked a bag of crack cocaine from his belly button, according to an arrest affidavit released Wednesday.

Deputies stopped Gergory K. Vandyke, 47, of Sebastian, Fla. about 11:05 p.m. Tuesday after he ran a stop light.

The man said he was coming from Vero Beach, but the deputy reported spotting him "coming off of 58th Court, a known drug area."

A sheriff's dog "alerted" on Vandyke's 2001 Ford Ranger, and investigators found a small amount of powder cocaine in the vehicle.

"Vandyke was advised that bringing a controlled substance into the jail was an additional charge," the arrest affidavit states. "At that time Vandyke told me to check his belly button."

That, investigators report, is where Vandyke had squirreled away a small plastic baggy of crack. He later said he buys $20 to $30 of the drug one or two times a week and uses the crack to help with pain.

He faces a felony possession of a controlled substance charge.

(Contact Will Greenlee of The Stuart News in Florida ar www.tcpalm.com.)