By Anita Dangazele
The National Commissioner of Correctional Services, Makgothi Thobakgale, led a surprise raid at the St Albans Correctional Facility in Gqeberha early on Monday morning.
St Albans is a maximum-security prison that holds some of the most dangerous criminals in the Eastern Cape.
The raid took place around 4am in the Medium B section, where officials found cellphones, TVs, sharp objects, and about R4,000 in cash hidden in the inmates’ bodies.
One inmate had R1,920 stashed inside his anus.
Thobakgale said the raid targeted two inmates who are believed to be key figures in the city’s extortion and gang violence problems.
“We focused on two offenders because of the role they played in the gangs,” said Thobakgale.
“Firstly, they are high up in the rankings, and secondly, they are issuing instructions and coordinating activities like smuggling contraband, including drugs and cellphones, inside the facility.”
He explained that many of the crimes in Gqeberha’s northern areas are planned inside the prison and carried out by people on the outside, sometimes with the help of prison wardens.
“We have to dismantle the gangs inside the prisons while working with SAPS to take down those outside. The raid is crucial to disrupting the operations of these gangs, including prison staff who are part of the gangs,” Thobakgale said.
The commissioner also mentioned that he was unable to address prison staff as planned because 15 wardens arrived an hour late to work.
“The whole system is disrupted by people who are careless and negligent. They should have been charged by now,” he said.
Pictured above: Prisoners lined up outside their cell during a parade at St Albans Correctional Facility in Gqeberha on Monday.
Source: Supplied
