The operation was executed by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which boarded five cruise ships from April 23 to April 25 as part of an ongoing effort against child sexual exploitation material (CSEM), according to The New York Post.
Officials reported that 28 crew members were interrogated during the enforcement effort, including 26 from the Philippines, one from Portugal, and one from Indonesia.
“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 that all subjects were involved in either the receipt, possession, transportation, distribution, or viewing of CSEM or child pornography,” a CBP representative stated to The Post.
Officials further added that the accused crew members had their visas revoked and are in the process of being deported from the US.
The New York Post highlighted that one of the ships involved in the operation was the Disney Magic cruise ship, which had docked in San Diego during the arrests. Footage captured by passengers and shared with the outlet allegedly showed crew members being handcuffed by federal agents while travelers disembarked from the vessel.
Passenger Dharmi Mehta, who recorded part of the event, noted that one of the detained employees had served guests during the trip.
Disney subsequently confirmed that some of its staff were among those detained in the investigation.
“We maintain a zero-tolerance policy for this type of behavior and fully cooperate with law enforcement. These individuals are no longer part of the company,” a Disney spokesperson remarked.
Authorities have not publicly named the other cruise lines involved in the operation, but the report indicated that four crew members described as ‘seafarers’ were apprehended from the Holland America vessel MV Zaandam around the same timeframe.
Additionally, the report noted that The Port of San Diego Harbor Police Department was not involved in the arrests.
