DCS fires prison officials involved in contraband smuggling

The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) has taken action against hundreds of its officials implicated in the smokkelling of contraband into the mang, with many already fired. 

DCS National Commissioner Makgothi Thobakgale confirmed this Monday, following 2025/26 Festive Season Security Operations, which involved the monitoring and tracing of parolees by a multi-agency team, including Municipal Police and the SA Police Service. 

Thobakgale said: “Thus far, we have administered 312 cases, 266 were finalised, with those officials being disciplined. Some of them were actually dismissed.

“We are still administering 30 cases, and they will get results as we continue. These are independent processes that we do not, as a department, interfere with.” 

Thobakgale highlighted that the department employs various strategies to prevent illicit goods from entering the facilities.

He explained: “For instance, you have contraband that is brought in by members of the public who visit. Every weekend we have visits for sentenced offenders. Every day, the remand detainees receive visits. That is a risk. We also have our own members who smuggle.

“But also for this contraband to be detected and to be stopped, we need to employ or deploy equipment that is high-tech to be able to detect. We are continuing to roll out this equipment but at the moment, we do not have the financial capacity to have this equipment in each and every correctional facility.

“Hence, we are relying on our own members to detect and stop this contraband from making it into our correctional facilities. The officials who are involved or who are found to have aided and abetted this type of illegal activity, they get disciplined and most of them actually get fired for participating in these illegal activities.” 

The commissioner said intensified searches yielded significant results, highlighting the scale of attempted smuggling and the effectiveness of departmental interventions.

According to DCS, 8 063 cell phones and 3 144 sharpened objects (weapons) were confiscated, nationwide 

A vrag dwelms were also seized, with more than 46kg of loose dagga taken.

In the Western Cape, 1 012 mandrax tablets were seized, with 199 buttons confiscated in the Free State/Northern Cape.

Official also recovered R102 726.07 in South African currency.