SAN DIEGO — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers boarded eight cruise ships at the B-Street Pier in San Diego between April 23 and April 27 as part of an ongoing investigation into child sexual exploitation material. Officers interviewed 28 crewmembers, canceled their visas and deported them to their home countries.

Twenty-seven of those interviewed were involved in the receipt, possession, transportation, distribution or viewing of child sexual exploitation material or child pornography, according to CBP. Twenty-six of the crewmembers are from the Philippines, one is from Portugal and one is from Indonesia.

CBP did not release the names of the crewmembers and did not indicate whether any might be tried in U.S. courts. An FBI spokesperson referred questions about the possibility of prosecution to CBP.

At least one of the enforcement actions took place aboard the Disney cruise ship Magic while it was docked at the B-Street Pier on the San Diego Bay harbor. A Disney Cruise Line spokesperson said the company fully cooperated with law enforcement, maintains a zero-tolerance policy for this type of behavior, and that the crewmembers who were involved are no longer with the company. A Holland America spokesperson said the company is cooperating with CBP in the investigation and has terminated the employment of the involved crewmembers.

The Port of San Diego's Harbor Police did not participate in the operation. The agency said it is prohibited by state law from participating in immigration enforcement, and that the B-Street Cruise Terminal is a federal port of entry under CBP's jurisdiction.