Over 8 000 cellphones were confiscated from South African prisons during the festive season.
This was revealed by national commissioner of the Department of Correctional Services (DCS), Makgothi Thobakgale, yesterday when he announced the outcomes of Operation Vala 2025/26 and findings of investigations into security incidents in the Western Cape.
Over many years, DCS has implemented Operation Vala, joined by the South African Police Service (SAPS) as a targeted festive season security intervention, commencing on 1 December and concluding in January.
The operation is designed to strengthen safety and security within correctional centres during a period characterised by increased movement, heightened visitations, elevated risks of contraband smuggling and escapes.
In addition, Operation Vala extends to the monitoring and tracing of parolees, joined by municipal police departments and SAPS.
This multi-agency approach underscores a coordinated and integrated effort within the justice, crime prevention and security cluster, Thobakgale said.
“While Operation Vala has consistently delivered positive results in ensuring safe and secure facilities, correctional services recognised that in certain respects, the operation had become routine and resource-intensive. This necessitated a renewed approach aimed at increasing impact, effectiveness and accountability. As a result, the 2025/26 Operation Vala represented a decisive shift in intensity, coordination and management oversight,” said Thobakgale.
“For the first time, the operation was assertively driven at management area level, supported by heightened senior management involvement and the expanded deployment of officials. This decentralised but coordinated approach enabled more frequent, intelligence-driven and comprehensive searches, significantly strengthening operational outcomes across the system.”
During the 2025/26 festive season, a total of 5 592 searches were conducted across correctional centres nationwide.
DCS says these search operations required repeated and sustained deployments, with security officials participating in multiple operations over the period.
As a result, the cumulative number of deployments reached 59 310 correctional officials, reflecting the repeated involvement of the same personnel across different operations amid ongoing staff shortages.
Gauteng and the Western Cape recorded the highest levels of operational activity, jointly accounting for 56% of all searches conducted nationally.
A total of 8 063 cellphones were confiscated at correctional centres across the country during the period, said the commissioner, adding that Gauteng recorded the highest number of seizures, with 2 321 devices recovered, underscoring the ongoing challenge of mobile phone smuggling within correctional facilities.
Thobakgale also revealed that a total of 3 144 sharpened objects were confiscated from correctional facilities across the country, with the Eastern Cape and the Free State/Northern Cape recording the highest volumes, indicating heightened security risks in these regions.
He added that more than 46kg of loose dagga were seized, along with thousands of dagga slopes and blades. Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West, as well as KwaZulu-Natal, accounted for the largest share of bulk drug seizures.
Authorities also confiscated significant quantities of Mandrax tablets, particularly in the Western Cape, where 1 012.5 tablets were recovered, and in the Free State/Northern Cape, where 199 tablets were seized, pointing to organised smuggling operations.
In addition, R102 726.07 in South African currency was recovered during the operations. Gauteng recorded the highest cash seizures at R37 193, followed by the Eastern Cape at R28 379. Small amounts of foreign currency were also confiscated, along with R400 in counterfeit South African notes in the Free State/Northern Cape region.
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