A passenger returning to Norfolk on a cruise aboard Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas was singled out for a customs inspection by US Customs inspectors on May 21m but the interesting details are just coming to light.
According to the online version of the Virginian-Pilot, the man was a convicted sex offender, and customs inspectors found his laptop computer contained images they considered child pornography. He was arrested, and it turns out that he was also a convicted sex offender.
The main point of interest here is that customs rules allow searches of electronic devices without a search warrant as long as it's part of a customs search when the item is being brought into the US. The Department of Homeland Security has not said if the man was singled out for a search at random, as some passengers are, or if they search him because of his past criminal record or some other tip-off.
The other point to note is that so far, there has been no allegation that the man was on the ship illegally or that he was engaged in any illegal or harmful activities while aboard the cruise ship.
