CORRECTIONAL Services officials confiscated 165 contraband items during a raid conducted at Qalakabusha Correctional Centre in Empangeni on Sunday.

Among the unauthorised items recovered were 33 cellphones, SIM cards, cellphone chargers, earphones, cash, sharp objects, dagga, whoonga tablets, among others.

ALSO READ : Policewoman under scrutiny after altercation with civilian

Addressing the media during the operation, national commissioner of correctional services Makgothi Thobakgale said the Empangeni facility was targeted following intelligence reports indicating the presence of prohibited items, despite it being classified as a medium-security facility.

“We found correctional funds, 50 whoonga tablets and 47 packages of dagga ready for distribution. We also discovered a substance identified as testosterone, along with syringes, packaged in a manner that requires administration by a health professional. However, these items were found in the possession of an inmate,” said Thobakgale.

Thobakgale added that the raid had helped identify inmates responsible for distributing contraband within the facility, and that corrective action would follow.

“We will be reclassifying those individuals and transferring them to facilities capable of managing high-risk offenders. They will no longer be classified as medium-risk but will be placed under stricter supervision. This process will begin immediately after the operation,” he said.

Read the full story in the ZO Weekender.

Don’t have the ZO app? Download it to your Android or Apple device here:

HAVE YOUR SAY