[SDUT] Illegals, Now with MORE Child Porn! An ongoing investigation into child sexual exploitation material led to the arrests of 27 crew members aboard several cruise ships in San Diego, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said.
News of the incidents emerged on Tuesday when a video taken on April 23 appeared to show federal agents placing crew members in a van in the B Street Pier parking lot. Some of the workers were from a Disney cruise that had just docked, according to an eyewitness who had just disembarked from the ship.
The operations took place from April 23 to April 27. The CBP spokesperson said that, after boarding eight vessels, agents interviewed 28 individuals and determined that all but one were allegedly involved in "either the receipt, possession, transportation, distribution, or viewing of (child sexual exploitation material) or child pornography."
Officials said that 26 of the crew members interviewed were from the Philippines, while one was from Portugal and another from Indonesia.
CBP canceled the visas of those allegedly involved and deported the suspects to their countries of citizenship, the spokesperson said. No further details about the federal investigation were provided.
"We have a zero-tolerance policy for this type of behavior and fully cooperated with law enforcement," a Disney spokesperson said Thursday in a statement. "While the majority of these individuals were not from our cruise line, those who were are no longer with the company."
CBP did not identify the cruise ships. Other arrested crew members were reportedly from a Holland America Line ship. On Tuesday, the company referred questions to CBP.
Some community organizations sought information from federal officials, as the incidents were initially believed to be related to immigration enforcement. Adriana Jasso of the American Friends Service Committee in San Diego said that after learning about the arrests, they contacted CBP and the cruise companies but did not receive a response. She said that they are asking the federal agency to provide more information about the investigation.
The Harbor Police Department released a statement on Tuesday stating that they were not involved in the reported enforcement actions and had not received any calls for service related to the incidents.
"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," the statement reads in part. "As such, any enforcement actions taken onboard vessels or within the federal inspection area fall under CBP’s jurisdiction."
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