Yesterday, the internet was buzzing with reports of Disney Cruise Line workers being rounded up by ICE, and now it turns out they were being arrested as part of a child pornography sting.
From April 23 through April 25, the US Customs and Border Protection service boarded five ships, including the Disney Magic in San Diego, as part of a sting operation involving child pornography.
28 people were arrested, but it’s unclear how many were Disney Cruise Line Workers.
According to the New York Post, the crew members (aboard five different ships) were interviewed and confirmed to be involved with or in possession of child pornography.
A CBP Spokesperson told the 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 or child pornography. CBP cancelled their visas and these criminals are being removed from our country.”
A Disney Spokesperson said,
“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.”
A Disney Magic guest who witnessed one person get arrested spoke on his behalf at a press conference.
She likely believed the arrests were made by ICE, but they were not.
“It was really unsettling,” said Mehta, who spoke to reporters during a news conference on the pier nearly two weeks after the incident. The most troublesome thing, she said, was that one of the crewmembers being detained was the head waiter who had served her and her family throughout the cruise. She knew the man has two daughters and was looking forward to seeing them later this month.
Mehta said the head waiter and the others who were taken into custody were still wearing their Disney-issued uniforms and didn’t have any of their belongings with them. “So that was just my big concern like how is he gonna reach out to his family? Does the family even know that he’s not getting back on the ship today?”
Mehta was joined at the news conference by representatives of several migrant rights groups who claim that crewmembers aboard another cruise ship were detained on April 25, two days after the Magic incident. They claim four “seafarers” working aboard Holland America’s MV Zandaam were also whisked away by ICE agents.”
So what she witnessed was actually an arrest for child pornography, and if guilty, the nice waiter serving her family was involved with something very sinister.
What do you think? Comment and let us know!
Pirates & Princesses (TM) (Stylized as PNP) is an independent, opinionated News and Information site focused on Travel, Entertainment, Fashion, the “Geek Girl” Lifestyle, and more. We focus heavily on Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Universal Orlando Resort, and other themed entertainment and travel destinations. Our news staff includes former theme park and entertainment industry employees, journalists and dedicated pop culture and theme park enthusiasts. Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of this site, our affiliates or our sponsors.