SAN DIEGO — U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced that 27 cruise ship employees, including employees of Disney Cruise Line, have been deported for their involvement in child pornography.
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The discovery was made last month after CBP officers boarded eight cruise ships between April 23 and 27 as part of an ongoing Child Sexual Exploitation Material Investigation (CSEM), a CBP spokesperson said in a statement Monday.
A spokesperson said authorities determined that 27 of the 28 crew members interviewed were “involved in either receiving, possessing, transporting, distributing, or viewing CSEM or child pornography,” and canceled their visas and deported them to their home countries.
A spokesperson said 26 of the crew members are Filipino, one Portuguese and one Indonesian. The agency said it would not release their names.
CBP has not said whether the crew members may face trial in U.S. courts. An FBI spokesperson referred questions regarding possible prosecution to CBP.
CBP did not immediately respond to questions about what prompted the surgery.
A Disney Cruise Line spokesperson said in a statement that the company is cooperating fully with law enforcement and has a “zero-tolerance policy for this type of behavior.”
“The majority of these individuals did not come from our cruise line, and those individuals are no longer with the company,” the spokesperson said.
A Holland America spokesperson confirmed in a statement that some members of the crew were involved. Following a similar zero-tolerance policy, a spokesperson called the allegations “extremely concerning,” said Holland America was cooperating with CBP and that the crew members involved had been “terminated.”
NBC San Diego reported that at least one CBP enforcement action last month occurred on the Disney cruise ship Magic, which was docked at the San Diego Bay port’s B Street Pier.
Port Police at the Port of San Diego said they were not involved in the operation because participating in immigration enforcement is prohibited by state law and the terminal is a federal port of entry under the jurisdiction of CBP.
Joe Kottke reported from New York and Dennis Romero from San Diego.
