Pretoria: Department of Correctional Services (DCS) officials conducted 5,592 search operations at correctional centres nationwide during the festive season, leading to the seizure of some 8,063 cellphones and R102,726.07 in cash.

According to South African Government News Agency, DCS National Commissioner Makgothi Thobakgale briefed the media on the outcomes of the department’s Operation Vala festive season security operations. Other confiscations included 3,144 sharpened objects, 46kg of loose dagga, significant quantities of Mandrax tablets, small quantities of foreign currency, as well as R400 in counterfeit South African notes.

Thobakgale noted that last year’s operation was implemented with a ‘renewed approach aimed at increasing impact, effectiveness, and accountability.’ The 2025/26 Operation Vala represented a decisive shift in intensity, coordination, and management oversight. For the first time, the operation was assertively driven at the Management Area level, supported by heightened senior management involvement and the expanded deployment of officials. This decentralized but coordinated approach enabled more frequent, intelligence-driven, and comprehensive searches, significantly strengthening operational outcomes across the system.

Notably, while the Western Cape conducted the highest number of searches, it yielded relatively low cash recoveries compared to regions such as the Eastern Cape. This disparity highlights differing patterns of illicit activity, including cashless illegal operations, and reinforces the importance of intelligence-driven searches. No offender escapes were recorded during the Operation Vala period, demonstrating enhanced institutional capacity to intercept and remove illicit items that threaten safety, security, and stability within correctional centres.

Thobakgale revealed that Operation Vala involved 59,310 correctional officials with the operation implemented under ‘conditions of significant systemic strain.’ During the festive season, the inmate population exceeded 170,739, far surpassing the Department’s approved bed capacity of approximately 107,067. This level of incarceration represents the highest population recorded in recent years, placing immense pressure on infrastructure, staffing, security management, and budget, compounded by reduced court activity during the period.

However, the department emphasized its commitment to sustained security in its facilities beyond the festive season. Although Operation Vala officially concluded in January 2026, the department has not relaxed its security posture. The operation has demonstrated improved capability at the Management Area level, and this capacity is being maintained and strengthened as part of ongoing, year-round security operations aimed at creating safer, contraband-free correctional environments.