LOOK: Cellphones, drugs and money found in Westville prison raid
National Commissioner for the Department of Correctional Services (DCS), Makgothi Thobakgale, has hailed a raid at Durban’s Westville Correctional Centre a success.
On Thursday night, a team of more than 200 officers comprising of DCS officials and various specialised police units, conducted a raid at the facility’s Medium B section, where they recovered contraband items, including cellphones, drugs, routers, money, television sets and radios.
Addressing the media during the raid, Thobakgale, said the department was not taking its foot off the pedal.
“These raids happen at intervals. As we are searching here, there are searches in other regions. In some instances, we invite the media so we can send a message to people out there that we continue to do this work,” the commissioner said.
Thobakgale explained that in some instances where items like TVs are found, the prisoner usually has a permit to have one in the cell. However, in Thursday’s raid the TV was confiscated as the inmate did not have the necessary paperwork.
He explained that on Friday, officers would begin investigations on how the items landed up inside the facility.
He said there are instances where if a prisoner was found to be in possession of contraband items, it was added to their profile.
The raid comes just days after police confiscated a PlayStation, cellphones and other items at the Johannesburg Correctional Centre, dubbed 'Sun City'
A raid was also conducted at the Goodwood Correctional Facility in Cape Town last month.
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