SAN DIEGO, California – More than two dozen cruise ship employees were detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) during coordinated inspections at the Port of San Diego in connection with an investigation into alleged child sexual exploitation material (CSEM).
According to CBP, a total of 28 foreign nationals from three countries, 26 from the Philippines, one from Indonesia, and one from Portugal, were interviewed during inspections conducted between April 23 and April 27 across eight cruise ships.
Authorities said 27 of the individuals were found to have allegedly engaged in the receipt, possession, transportation, distribution, or viewing of child sexual exploitation material or child pornography. CBP has not publicly announced formal criminal charges, and the individuals are being processed under immigration enforcement procedures.
It remains unclear how many of those detained were employed by Disney Cruise Line. The operation involved multiple cruise ships from different operators.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Disney said: “We have a zero tolerance policy for this type of behavior and fully cooperated with law enforcement. While the majority of these individuals were not from our cruise line, those who were are no longer with the company.”
CBP confirmed that the individuals’ visas have been revoked and that they are subject to deportation proceedings.
A passenger, identified as Dharmi Mehta, told the California Post that she witnessed federal agents boarding a vessel during her cruise and escorting crew members off the ship, describing the scene as “really unsettling.” She said some of the individuals were in uniform at the time of the operation.
The Port of San Diego stated that it was not involved in the enforcement action. Under U.S. federal jurisdiction, immigration and customs enforcement operations are conducted independently of local port authorities.
Edgardo Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
- EDGARDO HERNAL
- EDGARDO HERNAL
- EDGARDO HERNAL
- EDGARDO HERNAL
