A U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson revealed that between April 23 and 25, the agency raided five different cruise ships as part of ongoing child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) enforcement operations, and one of the vessels was a Disney cruise ship docked in San Diego, according to a California Post article published on Wednesday, May 6.
“After boarding the vessels and interviewing 26 suspected crew members from the Philippines, one suspected crew member from Portugal, and one from Indonesia, officers confirmed all subjects were involved in either the receipt, possession, transportation, distribution, or viewing of CSEM or child pornography,” the CBP spokesperson told the outlet. “CBP cancelled their visas and these criminals are being removed from our country.
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A Disney spokesperson also shared a statement with the publication explaining, “We have a zero-tolerance policy for this type of behavior and fully cooperated with law enforcement. These individuals are no longer with the company.”
It’s unclear how many of the 28 individuals were arrested on the Disney Magic cruise and which other ships the remaining crew members were on.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Port of San Diego shared a statement with NBC San Diego about the situation.
“The Port of San Diego Harbor Police Department did not have any involvement in the reported enforcement actions on April 23 or April 25 at the B Street Cruise Terminal,” the spokesperson said. “We did not receive any calls for service related to these incidents. In accordance with California law, including SB 54, Harbor Police does not participate in immigration enforcement activities.”