Disney Cruise employees were among 28 individuals arrested in a Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) operation conducted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Federal agents boarded five cruise ships, including the Disney Magic docked in San Diego, between April 23 and 25 as part of the enforcement action.

A Disney spokesperson stated the company maintains a zero-tolerance policy for such 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,” the spokesperson added.

Passengers documented multiple employees being detained on the Disney Magic ship during unloading in San Diego. Dharmi Mehta, a passenger who recorded video footage, identified her server as one of those arrested. She described the head waiter—whose family included two daughters she was scheduled to reunite with later that month—as still wearing his Disney-issued uniform and having no personal belongings at the time of detention.

The Port of San Diego Harbor Police Department confirmed it had no involvement in the April 23 or 25 enforcement actions. CBP officials reported interviewing 26 crew members from the Philippines, one from Portugal, and one from Indonesia. All individuals were found to have engaged in receipt, possession, transportation, distribution, or viewing of CSAM.

On April 28, ICE arrested twenty-three additional crew members at the Port of San Diego under Operation Tidal Wave, which was initiated based on intelligence from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The detained individuals had their visas revoked and were transported to Los Angeles for processing.