United States authorities detained 27 cruise ship crew members in San Diego in late April following a federal enforcement operation targeting child sexual exploitation material, with officials saying the individuals have since had their visas revoked and been returned to their home countries.
According to a spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), officers boarded eight cruise ships between April 23 and April 27 as part of an ongoing Child Sexual Exploitation Material enforcement operation. A total of 28 crew members were interviewed across the vessels, including 26 nationals from the Philippines, one from Portugal and one from Indonesia.
Authorities alleged that 27 of the 28 individuals were linked to offences involving the receipt, possession, transportation, distribution or viewing of child sexual exploitation material. The CBP spokesperson confirmed that the agency revoked the crew members’ visas before removing them from the country.
One of the vessels involved was connected to Disney Cruise Line. A Disney spokesperson confirmed the company cooperated fully with law enforcement and said those crew members from its ship who were implicated are no longer employed by the company. It remains unclear how many of the detained individuals were from the Disney vessel specifically, or which companies operated the remaining ships involved.
The operation reflects an intensifying federal focus on digital child exploitation offences in transient and maritime environments, where jurisdictional complexity and crew mobility have historically posed challenges for law enforcement. CBP did not confirm whether criminal charges would be pursued in the United States or whether cases had been referred to authorities in the crew members’ home countries.
