When Albert Santucci graduated from Drug Court in August he looked forward to a new life with the slate wiped clean.

But after being pulled from his plane when he landed in Toronto last Friday and roughly searched by gun-toting Canadian policemen he believes he is the victim of a Bermuda Police vendetta.

He said: ?The plane landed and everyone was asked to sit back down. They called my name over the PA and asked me to come to the front.

?When I stepped out into the tunnel I was thrown up against the wall with a gun pointed at me and told to ?spread them?.?

Mr. Santucci was subjected to a lengthy interrogation in Canada, given a cavity search and asked to give a stool sample despite producing a certificate showing his past convictions were spent.

However this only applies to Bermuda and does not bind other countries in treating him as a rehabilitated person.

He was shown a copy of his past convictions which had been faxed to Canada while he was in mid-flight.

After running into early problems a few weeks ago while making the same journey to see his wife who is in school, Mr. Santucci had taken a letter from Police confirming he had no previous convictions but he said the grilling in Canada was worse the second time around.

He said the rules of Drug Court say his spent convictions can only been revealed with his permission, which had not been given, and whoever had sent them had broken his constitutional rights.

Mr. Santucci said efforts to find out who had faxed over his spent convictions, which include a possession of a joint and possession of a firearm, have failed.

He believes Police are making life difficult after failing to get him for selling drugs but he then reformed himself after going through Drug Court which wipes off old convictions if participants successfully wean themselves of drugs. ?It?s like my past has come back to haunt me. Because they could never catch me they have decided to make my life a living hell.

?I don?t appreciate being subjected to this type of harassment. I have made no headway from Police about why this happened.?

He said his violent arrest in front of the many Bermudians who had shared the flight had upset him. His bags went missing when he returned from Canada for a day and a half but no-one could explain what happened, said Mr. Santucci who didn?t have his keys to get into his Southampton home. He said it was clear the bags had been searched as the neatly packed clothes were now in disarray.

Yesterday he met with Premier Alex Scott to press his case. Cabinet Secretary Warren Jones confirmed the meeting and said the matter was being looked into. Mr. Santucci plans to take up the case with Honorary Canadian Consul Saul Froomkin.

Police media relations did not provide comment by Press time last night.