A retired grandfather, renowned on the Island for his love of old Bermudian postcards and artifacts, has threatened never to return after his cruise ship cabin was raided by Customs.

Donald Stephens, who has visited the Island 44 times, had $5,000 worth of postcards, computer equipment, compact discs and old coins seized by Customs and Immigration officers after the Pacific Princess docked in St. George's on Tuesday.

The 65-year-old, accompanied on the trip by his wheelchair-bound wife Barbara, said he was taken to an interview room before their entire cabin was searched and belongings confiscated on suspicion that duty had not been paid.

He claimed Customs officers were heavy handed in executing their duties and said, if they had asked him to explain his collection and the sale of it, he would have obliged immediately.

But instead, he said he did not know if he would continue his relationship with Bermuda and added that plans he had to donate $200,000 worth of old postcards for display at Commissioner's House in Dockyard were in doubt. Mr.

Stephens, who lives in New York, has collected old postcards, pictures and memorabilia connected to Bermuda since first visiting the Island 23 years ago.

He said he fell in love with the place and began to take a keen interest in its history, collecting up to 6,500 postcards dating back to 1900, which he auctioned on the Internet via the eBay website.

Most of the postcards he has sold were sent through the mail, but he said every now and again he travelled to Bermuda and delivered some personally to customers.

Not only does it allow him to build up a rapport with his customers, but it also enabled him to show off his collection to anyone interested. He said he had no idea he had to pay duty on any of the goods and added, to his knowledge, no postcards sent through the post had been subject to duty, even after they were inspected by Customs.

Yesterday he showed The Royal Gazette a package sent through the post and previously opened by Customs, which stated on it "postcards - duty free''.

Mr. Stephens said: "I have been coming here for 23 years and I never expected to be treated like this. My wife and I were merely coming here for a few days and I thought I would act as courier and bring across some postcards. They came on board the ship and said they wanted to interview me and search the room. I felt interrogated.

Outrage as Customs raid cruise ship cabin "My wife has multiple sclerosis and she has suffered badly with stress through this.

"But what is really worrying is that I was told by one of the Customs officers that in their hands they had three-years worth of my e-mails which could be used as evidence.

"If that is the case, I think questions should be asked. How can they just access people's e-mails? It looked like they had the eBay confirmation sheets that only myself and the purchaser should have.

"I can't believe I'm being investigated for commercial fraud. As far as I'm concerned, I have done everything properly.

"I don't know what I will do now. I don't know if we will ever come back.'' Yesterday afternoon, while The Royal Gazette was interviewing Mr. Stephens, two Customs officers returned his laptop computer to him.

However, he handed it back to the officers about 15 minutes later, claiming he was unable to access some of the files.

As of last night, he had refused to accept it until it was fully operational again.

Legislation states that postcards which enter Bermuda as collection or sale items, but not sent by holidaymakers, are liable to 22.25 percent duty.

Assistant Chief Immigration Officer Rozy Azhar denied Immigration officers had taken part in any raid but said her officers had conducted a standard interview.

She said: "We had received a complaint about Mr. Stephens -- that he appeared to be planning to transact business in Bermuda without the Minister's permission.'' Two Immigration officers interviewed him to see if the complaint was true.

She said Mr. Stephens was told he needed permission but he failed to follow through with this.

And Ms Azhar also denied the department intercepted any e-mail messages.

Acting Collector of Customs, Winifred Fostine-DeSilva, said she would not comment on any individual case and said no personal computer files were monitored or tampered with by officers until a warrant had been executed.

She said there was no substance in claims that Mr. Stephen's personal e-mail was accessed. However, she added that the raid on Mr. and Mrs. Stephen's cabin was part of a regular inspection on board the cruise liners carried out by rummage teams and that other passengers were searched.

She added: "There were a number of inspections carried out yesterday (Tuesday) as part of a routine Customs search.

"I will not comment on any specific case or go into any more detail.'' She said if they found anything that contravened the Revenue Act or discovered illegal substances on board the ships, then action would be taken.

And when asked about Customs officers' rights to access computer data, she added: "The law says Customs can access any records under warrant if it is connected to Customs.'' The investigation into Mr. Stephen's collection and his belongings is still on-going.

Photos by Arthur Bean Outraged: Donald Stephens (above), retired grandfather. Below: Acting Collector of Customs Winniefred Fostine-DeSilva argues over whether Customs are entitled to seize Royal Gazette pictures with, from left, photographers David Skinner and Tony Cordeiro and Editor Bill Zuill.