WATCH | Inside the Pollsmoor raid: What officials found will shock you

Pollsmoor

Cape Town – A surprise raid at Pollsmoor Prison in Cape Town on Wednesday exposed alarming security breaches and corruption in South Africa’s prison system.

Among the contraband uncovered were 53 cellphones, 210 bags of marijuana, Mandrax pills, and an illegal TV.

Led by Correctional Services Commissioner Makgothi Thobakgale, the raid is part of a nationwide crackdown on prison gang activity.

One of the most shocking finds was a hollowed-out brick hiding six cellphones, leading to the inmate’s relocation. Investigators also uncovered WhatsApp messages on a phone linking a prisoner to a gang member outside the prison.

Thobakgale revealed that more than 450 inmates were moved between the courts and Pollsmoor Prison on Wednesday alone, highlighting inmate transfers as a significant security threat, reports said.

“In as much as we are continuing with a national search campaign to raid, we don’t just do that for the sake of doing it. We are doing it because there is specific focus that we are putting, especially on inmates that are of interest,” Thobakgale said.

“We are cutting their networks, we are cutting their communication with the outside world. We are also cutting their influence on their inmates within our facilities. That’s the only way we can make it a point that when when they are inside, they don’t continue to interrupt rehabilitation and correctional programmes and that they don’t continue to disturb the peace that we are supposed to have in correctional facilities.”

According to The South African, authorities also found unsanitary conditions, broken infrastructure, and illegal electrical connections in the overcrowded facility, which houses 6 700 inmates, far exceeding its capacity of 4 336.

Thobakgale acknowledged corrupt officials as key enablers of smuggling and stressed the need for stricter enforcement.

The operation follows a recent warder stabbing incident and mirrors similar crackdowns at other prisons across the country, aimed at dismantling gang networks and restoring control.

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