Investigation found 27 cruise ship workers, including from Disney, engaged with child pornography, CBP says - BERITAJA

SAN DIEGO — Twenty-seven cruise vessel workers, including immoderate from the Disney Cruise Line, were deported aft having engaged pinch kid pornography, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said.

The find was made past month, aft CBP officers boarded 8 cruise ships betwixt April 23 and 27 arsenic portion of an ongoing kid intersexual exploitation worldly investigation, a CBP spokesperson said successful a connection Monday.

The spokesperson said the agency wished 27 of the 28 unit members interviewed “were progressive successful either the receipt, possession, transportation, distribution, aliases viewing of CSEM aliases kid pornography,” and that their visas were canceled and they were deported to their location countries.

Twenty-six of the unit members interviewed were from the Philippines, 1 was from Portugal and different was from Indonesia, the spokesperson said. The agency said it would not beryllium releasing their names.

The CBP did not bespeak whether the unit members mightiness beryllium tried successful U.S. courts. An FBI spokesperson referred questions about the anticipation of prosecution to CBP.

CBP did not instantly respond to questions about what prompted the operation.

In a statement, a Disney Cruise Line spokesperson said the institution afloat cooperated pinch rule enforcement and that it has a “zero-tolerance argumentation for this type of behavior.”

“While the mostly of these individuals were not from our cruise line, those who were are nary longer pinch the company,” the spokesperson said.

A Holland America spokesperson confirmed successful a connection that immoderate of its unit members were involved. Echoing a akin zero-tolerance policy, the spokesperson called the allegations “deeply disturbing” and said Holland America is cooperating pinch CBP and that the unit members progressive person been “terminated.”

NBC San Diego reported astatine slightest 1 of the CBP enforcement actions past period happened connected committee the Disney cruise vessel Magic arsenic it was docked astatine B-Street Pier connected the San Diego Bay harbor.

The Port of San Diego’s Harbor Police said the agency was not progressive successful the cognition because it is prohibited by authorities rule from participating successful migration enforcement and because the terminal is simply a national larboard of introduction nether CBP’s jurisdiction.

Joe Kottke reported from New York and Dennis Romero reported from San Diego.