The Department of Correctional Services has administered 312 disciplinary cases against officials implicated in DCS contraband smuggling. Of these, 266 cases have been finalised, with some officials dismissed.

DCS National Commissioner Makgothi Thobakgale announced the figures during a media briefing on Monday. He spoke on the outcomes of Operation Vala, the 2025/26 Festive Season Security Operations.

Thobakgale said officials who aid and abet smuggling face discipline and most get fired. The department also opens criminal cases against them.

Operation Vala uncovers large-scale contraband hauls

Officials conducted 5 592 searches nationwide during the operation. They confiscated 8 063 cellphones, 3 144 sharpened objects, more than 46 kg of loose dagga, thousands of dagga slopes and blades, and significant mandrax tablets.

Gauteng accounted for 2 321 seized cellphones. Cash totalling R102 726 was confiscated, along with small amounts of foreign currency and R400 in counterfeit notes.

The prison population exceeded 170 739 during the festive season, well above the approved capacity of 107 671 beds.

Thobakgale explained that contraband enters facilities through visitors and officials. The department lacks high-tech detection equipment in every centre because of financial constraints, so it relies on its own members to stop smuggling.

The Department of Correctional Services provided a full update through Commissioner Thobakgale. No other parties responded to requests for comment by the time of publication.