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Foreign ship crew member caught with child exploitation material

Sound Telegraph

A 26-year-old seaman has been refused entry and had his Maritime Crew Visa cancelled after Australian Border Force officers located child exploitation material on his phone during a routine cabin search.

The Vietnamese man arrived at the Kwinana port aboard a foreign registered bulk carrier earlier this week.

ABF officers conducting border clearance of the ship’s crew examined the man’s phone and discovered a video depicting the sexual exploitation of an under-age girl.

The man banned from coming ashore and was restricted to the ship until it departed Kwinana for South East Asia on Thursday June 20.

Acting ABF WA Regional Commander Felicity Horrocks said tackling child exploitation was a priority for the ABF in protecting the border from individuals who may pose a threat to the community.

“ABF officers regularly detect child exploitation and other abhorrent material at our airports, but this should serve as a warning to visitors who arrive by sea that our workforce, at all ports, are constantly on watch,” she said.

“ABF officers have significant powers to search the mobile phones and electronic devices of international travellers and they exercise those powers at air and sea gateways around the country on a daily basis.

“There are significant penalties and consequences for the importation of abhorrent material, and in particular child exploitation material, and anyone caught engaging in this behaviour risks forfeiting their right to be here.”

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