five hour experience at the Airport.

Thirty-seven-year-old Mr. Christopher Hensley, from Tennessee, says the ordeal with Customs wrecked his short stay on the Island.

But a Government spokesman has defended the actions of Customs officers as they fight to keep drugs out of Bermuda.

Self-employed Mr. Hensley said: "I came in on the US Air Flight at around 1.20 p.m. I was using up my frequent flyer ticket and I had decided to come to Bermuda for just one night.

"When the Customs officers saw I was only staying a night and only had $200 in cash they started to get suspicious.

"They pointed out that I was sweating but I had been standing outside the Customs Hall for half an hour in the queue. It was hardly surprising.

"They said because I was only staying a short time I was a prime suspect for drug smuggling. They demanded to know how much of the drug I had swallowed.'' Mr. Hensley said that he was taken for an X-ray check and forced to provide a stool to prove he had not swallowed any drugs.

"It took about six hours and they found I was clean,'' he added. "They did not even apologise for anything. It was terrible.

"I only managed to get a couple of hours on the beach the next day. It was very disappointing. I was told by a taxi driver that it is a regular occurrence.

"I am a scuba diver and I have been all over the world to places like Cyprus, Jamaica and Venezuela but I have never been treated in this manner. I will certainly not be coming back.'' The Government official said that Mr. Hensley had not made an official complaint about the matter but it was being investigated.

He said that Customs officers did search people from time to time when they arrived at the Airport, pointing out that it could not be an exact science.

"Sometimes people will be searched who are entirely innocent but most understand that these are really important to Bermuda's fight against drugs and realise that it is better to search and find nothing than to let the drugs enter the country.''