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Disney cruise ship staff arrested on suspicion of possessing child sex abuse materials
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Numerous travelers on board Disney's Magic cruise ship were left shocked after ICE agents stormed on while the vessel was docked in San Diego.
Several crew members were detained, as immigrant rights groups claimed that at least 10 crew members were apprehended on April 23, after the ship had returned from a five-day trip.
Families hoping to have a holiday to remember were shocked by the raid, as U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents also made their way onto four other cruise ships.
It turned out that these arrests made between April 23 and 25 were part of ongoing Child Sexual Exploitation Material enforcement operations.
Authorities say that those on board the Disney Magic cruise were reportedly surrounded by alleged child predators, per the New York Post.
Statement from authorities on arrests
The publication reported that a CBP spokesperson told The California Post: “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 all subjects were involved in either the receipt, possession, transportation, distribution, or viewing of CSEM (child sexual exploitation material) or child pornography.”
The statement further explained: “CBP cancelled their visas and these criminals are being removed from our country.”
“We have a zero-tolerance policy for this type of behavior and fully cooperated with law enforcement. These individuals are no longer with the company,” a Disney spokesperson said about the situation.
It is currently unknown which other ships the other crew members may have worked on outside the Disney cruise, but passengers were quick to document the arrests.
Employees were cuffed on the Disney Magic ship, while passengers were disembarking.
Footage of the arrests from passengers
A video from passenger Dharmi Mehta went viral following the incident, as many believed that crew was being arrested due to their illegal immigration status.
This proved not to be the case, as she shared that one of those detained was her server.
Speaking during a news conference on Tuesday (May 5), she explained: “We got to know him fairly well, and he had actually been serving us probably 45 minutes to an hour before he was in restraints.”
Crew were still in their Disney uniforms, and without their belongings, as they were being detained.
Immigration rights groups believed that four “seafarers” were arrested on the Holland America MV Zandaam cruise ship too, as they were unsettled over the perceived nature of the arrests.
Only immigration officers were involved
The port would confirm in a statement that local police were not involved.
A port spokesperson told NBC San Diego: “The Port of San Diego Harbor Police Department did not have any involvement in the reported enforcement actions on April 23 or April 25 at the B Street Cruise Terminal.
“We did not receive any calls for service related to these incidents. In accordance with California law, including SB 54, Harbor Police does not participate in immigration enforcement activities.”
“The B Street Cruise Terminal is a federal port of entry, where law enforcement authority for immigration and customs matters rests with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP),” the statement went on.
“As such, any enforcement actions taken onboard vessels or within the federal inspection area fall under CBP’s jurisdiction.”
