According to Nunatsiaq News, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have arrested Akshay Somaroo, a crew member of a cruise ship, on charges related to the possession and importation of child pornography near Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut, Canada. At the time he was arrested, Somaroo was employed on the World Explorer, a small expedition cruise ship that accommodates around 170 guests and 130 crew members.
Local reports indicate that RCMP officers boarded the cruise ship in Frobisher Bay to support personnel from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and Fisheries and Oceans Canada with what were termed “routine” customs checks. During these inspections, Somaroo, who is believed to be from Mauritius, was searched by CBSA officers and was arrested upon discovery of child pornography in his possession.
This latest arrest of a 31-year-old crew member has increased the total number of crew members apprehended for child pornography to seventeen in just the last seven months. This marks the highest count of such arrests I have encountered in my fifteen years of reporting on the cruise industry.
Soomaroo has not yet entered a plea and is set to appear in the Nunavut Court of Justice on September 11th, as stated in a news release from the RCMP website.
The World Explorer is owned by Mystic Cruises and is currently chartered and operated by Quark Expeditions, along with Nicko Cruises.
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Image credit: Akshay Somaroo in the custody of Canadian sheriff’s office – Arty Sarkisian via Nunatsiaq News; World Explorer – Quark Expeditions
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