gain entry into Bermuda after stowing away on a flight from New Jersey.

The man appeared with passengers from Continental Flight 1218 from Newark on Wednesday afternoon but was detained after immigration officials discovered he had no documentation.

"That he had no papers at all alerted us to the situation,'' said assistant chief immigration officer Rozy Azhar.

"This department is strict about documentation and situations like this are just the reason why.'' The identity of the man was verified with the help of US authorities both in Bermuda and in the US, Ms Azhar added.

While immigration would not disclose just how the man was able to elude US authorities and airline personnel, it is believed that he originally boarded a United Airlines flight from Los Angeles, California and flew to Newark before winging his way to Bermuda.

Sources added that the stowaway told local authorities that he slipped past a boarding agent in New Jersey and boarded the Bermuda bound flight.

If a night in Bermuda was all he wanted, he got his wish as Continental footed the bill for him to be detained at the Grotto Bay Hotel with two plain-clothes security officers.

Ms Azhar confirmed that the man had now left Bermuda. He returned to Newark on Continental's Thursday afternoon flight.

"It is very important that visitors and locals understand that this is why we have to see documentation,'' said Ms Azhar.

"So many people come and say that this is a tourist destination, that they are coming for a holiday and feel that they should not have to travel with papers and documentation.

"But it is for reasons such as this that we have to have stringent regulations,'' she said.