OLD DRUG CHARGE HAUNTS TRAVELLER

A city man says his vacation with his wife was ruined after he was
detained at the Los Angeles airport because of a 25-year-old drug
charge and treated like a suspected terrorist.

"They basically stole my vacation," said R.M. Singh, a 45-year-old
bookkeeper. "Nobody should be treated like that. Even if they have the
worst record, they should not be treated like scum. They should be
treated with dignity and respect."

Singh and his common-law wife Darlene Loupret were transferring planes
at Los Angeles International Airport Saturday when he was hauled out
of the United States customs line into a detention area.

Loupret was told she could take their luggage and leave.

The couple was on vacation in Australia for four weeks visiting
Loupret's daughter and then in Singapore for one week before heading
home Saturday.

"The whole process was very, very demoralizing," Loupret, 47, said.
"We were both trying to speak to the different officers and find out
what the problem was and why they were doing this, and they would not
answer us."

And while she said she can't prove it, she suspects her husband's last
name and his Indian heritage figured into how he was treated. "They
were basically treating him like he was a terrorist,"she said.

Singh said he doesn't blame customs officials for pulling him over to
ask questions about the 25-year-old conviction for possession of a
quarter-gram of hashish. He pleaded guilty and was fined $100.

But he said there was no need to treat him like dirt and common sense
should have prevailed once they realized the drug charge was decades
old.

From the moment Singh was taken into the detention area, he said he
wasn't allowed to sit with his wife and he had to ask permission to go
to the washroom or for a cigarette.

During a brief encounter with Loupret, who was near tears as she
waited for him, Singh said a customs officer prevented him from
hugging her.

Singh said a customs officer took his passport and citizenship card.
He immigrated to Canada from Trinidad and Tobago in 1970 and has been
a Canadian citizen since 1979. He said officers repeatedly asked him
the questions about where he was born, his purpose for visiting the
U.S. and whether he'd be making a claim to stay in the country.

Singh said he thought they were trying to catch him in a
lie.

He said he was also subjected to an invasive body search and he
thought they were looking for wires or weapons.

After nearly nine hours in the detention centre - the couple had long
since missed their flight home - a customs officer wrote "ordered
removed" on Singh's passport.

Officials then rushed Singh and Loupret onto the next flight to
Canada. The couple was flown to Vancouver and had to arrange their own
flight back to Edmonton. Fortunately, Singh said, Air Canada got them
a flight home.

Singh said he has travelled to the U.S. about 8 to 10 times since his
drug conviction and never before had a problem. He said he's now not
allowed to set foot in the U.S. and will have to apply for a waiver to
travel through the U.S.