U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents arrested 28 cruise ship crew members during an operation targeting child sexual exploitation material aboard multiple vessels docked in California, according to federal officials.
Authorities said the enforcement action took place between April 23 and April 25 after agents boarded five cruise ships, including vessels connected to Disney Cruise Line, while the ships were docked in San Diego.
A CBP spokesperson said officers interviewed 28 crew members during the operation, including 26 workers from the Philippines, one from Portugal and one from Indonesia.
According to federal officials, investigators determined the crew members were allegedly involved in the receipt, possession, transportation, distribution or viewing of child sexual exploitation material, also known as CSEM.
Authorities said the investigation focused on crimes involving child pornography and digital exploitation material discovered during the federal enforcement operation aboard the vessels.
“CBP cancelled their visas and these criminals are being removed from our country,” a spokesperson for the agency said following the arrests and immigration enforcement actions.
Federal officials did not publicly identify the names of those arrested or specify which individuals worked for particular cruise lines involved in the operation.
Disney confirmed some of the workers arrested during the investigation were employed by the company at the time federal agents boarded the ships in San Diego.
“We have a zero-tolerance policy for this type of behavior and fully cooperated with law enforcement,” a Disney spokesperson said in a statement following the operation.
“While the majority of these individuals were not from our cruise line, those who were are no longer with the company,” the spokesperson added while discussing the arrests.
Passengers aboard a Disney cruise ship reportedly watched as immigration and federal law enforcement officers detained several crew members while the vessel unloaded passengers at the port.
One passenger, identified as Dharmi Mehta, recorded video of the arrests and later said one of the crew members taken into custody had worked as a server aboard the ship.
Reports indicated some of the arrests involved employees aboard the Disney Magic vessel, while additional detentions allegedly involved crew members connected to other cruise operators, per the New York Post.
Federal officials did not publicly identify the names of the other ships boarded during the operation or specify where each arrested worker had been assigned.
Immigration advocacy groups initially criticized the arrests before details emerged regarding the allegations involving child sexual exploitation material and federal criminal investigations.
The Port of San Diego confirmed local police agencies were not involved in the operation and said the enforcement action was handled by federal authorities and immigration officials.
“The Port of San Diego Harbor Police Department did not have any involvement in the reported enforcement actions,” a port spokesperson said while discussing the federal operation aboard the cruise ships.
