Disney Cruise Ship Staffers Among Dozens Arrested in Child Porn Investigation: Report

Staffers on a Disney cruise ship docked in San Diego were among 28 people arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection as part of a child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) operation.

According to the federal agency, between April 23 and April 27 CBP boarded eight cruise ships as part of the investigation. (The agency did not specify that one was a Disney cruise — The California Post broke that news.) Law enforcement interviewed 26 suspected crew members from the Philippines, one suspected crew member from Portugal and one from Indonesia.

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“Officers confirmed that 27 of the 28 subjects were involved in either the receipt, possession, transportation, distribution, or viewing of CSEM or child pornography,” a spokesperson for CBP said in a statement to Variety. “CBP cancelled their visas and these criminals have been returned to their country of citizenship.”

The agency did not reveal the names of any of the staffers arrested.

A spokesperson for Disney Cruise Line issued the following statement to Variety: “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.”

In April, passengers aboard the Disney Magic ship captured video footage of several employees being arrested by immigration enforcement agents. One vacationer, Dharmi Mehta, took a video of a man she said was her server as he was detained.

The other cruise ships involved in the operation have not been disclosed by Customs and Border Protection.