Prisoners at St Albans Correctional facility got a rude awakening during an early-morning prison raid led by correctional services national commissioner Makgothi Thobakgale, on Thursday.
The operation targeted not only inmates in their cells but also officials, who were searched upon arrival for their early morning shifts.
Thobakgale said the aim was to uncover illegal contraband, including drugs, cellphones, weapons and cash.
To maintain the element of surprise, members of the media and the Correctional Services Emergency Support Team (EST) were initially informed that the raid would take place at Kirkwood Prison.
Upon arrival, after all personnel had handed over their cellphones, the actual location was revealed to be St Albans Prison.
Thobakgale said officials were searched due to suspicions that some may be involved in smuggling contraband into the facility.
“We want to test whether some of our members are playing a part in bringing contraband into our correctional facilities.
“That is why we are searching them from the outside, to ensure their vehicles are clean before they enter. As we continue to search inmates, we also want to rule out our members as a source of contraband,” he said.
After a thorough search of vehicles and personnel, no contraband was found.
The commissioner then led a raid of the kitchen block, where cellphones were discovered, resulting in inmates being charged with possession of contraband and losing their kitchen privileges.
The C Medium block was also searched, where EST members found a bank card, cash, drugs and weapons.
“We found cellphones and some drugs. The focus of today’s operation was to identify the cells contributing to insecurity in the facility.
“We have identified the offenders involved and will take action. We also have a problem with offenders working in the kitchen, which has now been addressed.”
Thobakgale said further action would be taken after the raid. “We have to follow due legal processes.
“To begin with, I will meet with management. We have identified offenders who need to be reclassified, as well as our own members who are undisciplined.
“There must be processes to address this,” he said.
Equipment problems
Thobakgale also raised concern about the entry scanner at the prison, which has allegedly been out of service since the beginning of the year.
“That is part of the problem in our facilities. Equipment we install is sometimes sabotaged by our own members, which is why we need to intervene and ensure it is fixed,” he said.
He further criticised the late arrival of some personnel.
“The nurses were scheduled to arrive at 8am, but only came in after that, meaning they were late for duty. What makes the situation worse is that we had an offender who was unwell and clearly needed immediate attention,” Thobakgale said.
“Their late arrival is something I will be addressing with the relevant officials.”
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