A local man intends to file a complaint about Customs officers procedures during a search and questioning after he flew home from vacation on Sunday.

The man who asked to not be identified, said while he understood Customs and Police officers had to do their jobs they were "nasty'' toward him.

"I just don't think that it is right they can do it to you that way,'' the St. George's man said. "I don't have a drug record, I don't even do drugs.

Nothing like that. He just said he was doing his job. Just like that, nothing else.

"They've got to realise that it is embarrassing to be dragged out of line like that,'' he continued. "It was the most humiliating thing of my life.'' The man found the questioning, luggage search and body search -- which together took about two hours -- so traumatising it has put in jeopardy plans for his honeymoon vacation in March.

Already afraid to fly -- he was returning from his first trip abroad in more than eight years -- a Caribbean cruise is looking to be too daunting for the man and his girlfriend.

"Not if they are going to be like that, I won't leave Bermuda,'' he said. "I was just standing in line and this guy came to me and pulled me out. I didn't know he was narcotics.

"The whole Continental flight on Sunday afternoon was watching. They didn't give me their names. They just wanted me to bend over and spread my legs.'' He added: "Most definitely I'll protest, definitely. If I saw them again I would know their faces. He was looking for something but he was disappointed.

"Good wholesome people are being stopped and harassed,'' the man said.

"Government needs to check their procedures because this was uncalled for.'' The man also complained that even if the search was warranted, his waiting fiance should have been warned about the delay.

Told that there was no-one else coming from the Continental flight, she went back home to await his call from New Jersey, thinking that he had been delayed.

He said she was shocked to learn he had been at the airport for so long the evening Delta flight had arrived and the Continental plane had already departed.

When contacted late yesterday, Collector of Customs Bill LeDrew said he could not talk about specific cases but said the service had strong guidelines for searches.

"I can't comment on that case in particular,'' Mr. LeDrew said. "But I can encourage the man to contact me about it. I've not received a complaint but we do want to hear from him.

"Our policies are clear,'' he continued. "First of all examination of luggage has to be considered a normal part of clearing Customs. That doesn't mean everybody has to have their bags searched, but it does mean that roughly one out of ten people could expect a search.

"We do not need reasonable grounds for a baggage search and, in fact, we can do far greater searches than that, like if we are doing a blitz or to assess compliance (with Customs declarations),'' Mr. LeDrew added.

"Usually it takes a few minutes and then people are on their way. If we do find undeclared goods or see indications of narcotics then that's a different matter.'' Personal searches, Mr. LeDrew explained must first be approved by a Senior Customs officer with management responsibility, who should receive "clear reasons'' for the search.

"We have very, very clear guidelines,'' he added. "The Customs officer has to satisfy the manager on all these guidelines. We don't do a large number of these searches and yes, they can be intrusive or embarrassing.''