By: Justicia Shipena
Deputy Commissioner General of the Namibian Correctional Services (NCS) Sam Shaalulange says smuggled phones into the correctional facilities are used by inmates to coordinate scams.
This comes after the Windhoek correctional facility this weekend announced that it had discovered 95 mobile phones, 101 packages of dagga, 33 crack cocaine sachets, eight mandrax tablets and 75 sachets of tobacco were smuggled into the facility between January to April this year.
This was revealed by Windhoek Correctional Facility’s officer in charge, deputy commissioner Veikko Armas at an anti-contraband awareness campaign in Windhoek.
Shaalulange said mobile phones are used to commit criminal activities.
“Of course, a few want it because they want to connect with family and friends. But mostly, it is for criminal activities. Scams are being coordinated or run from the correctional facilities,” he said.
Speaking to The Villager, Shaalulange said mobile phones are the highest items smuggled into the correctional facilities.
“Mobile phones are in demand in the correctional facilities. They are utilised to continue with criminal activities, coordinate criminal activities, etc.,” he said.
He added that the smuggling of contraband items is not only common at the Windhoek Correctional Facility; however, the capital city tops the list.
“It is understandable that Windhoek facilities have a high number because it is the largest and houses high-risk inmates.”
Shaalulange said Hardap also experiences unauthorised articles that have been smuggled into the facility.
“We have facilities like Oluno in Ondangwa, which also has several attributions. We have a lot of movement in and out, and you have smuggling incidents,” he said.
According to Armas, the packages of dagga are in the form of ballies, bullets or sachets.
He added that 33 crack cocaine sachets, eight mandrax tablets and 75 sachets of tobacco were also found at the facility.
Armas said the contrabands were found in the facility when searches were conducted.
“They were also found in consignments dropped off or planted at the facility and public places such as hospitals, courts, or schools and intercepted,” he said.
He further said that some of these contrabands were intercepted before entering the facility.
“This was especially during external patrol conducted by the officers around facility perimeters as often these drugs are planted around these areas by those who work in cahoot with inmates,” he explained.
Armas said the smuggling of contrabands poses a substantial threat to the NCS’s mandate on safety.
“Contrabands into correctional facilities pose a substantial threat to the safety of correctional staff, offenders and the public at large,” he said.
He stated that offenders could use them to engage in criminal activities such as creating underground economies and aggravating existing drug addictions by offenders.
“Offenders can use these illicit items such as mobile phones, drugs and weapons to perpetrate violence against officers, fellow offenders and members of the public,” he said.
Contrabands are goods that are prohibited by law from entering a correctional facility.
Speaking on how these items enter the prison, Armas said offenders can smuggle in contrabands by using their body cavities.
“Where they insert contraband into the rectum or swallow and retrieve it later. Another method used to smuggle contraband is through family and friends visiting inmates who are persuaded to bring in these unauthorised articles using concealment. For example, contraband could be hidden in food containers or items such as coffee or bread, to mention a few; or they could be placed in toiletries such as lotion, toothpaste, aqueous cream or even vaseline,” he narrates.
Additionally, he said the negative effects of contraband use and smuggling include increased security incidents, bullying, and violence.
Furthermore, Armas expressed that the smuggling of these items also affects rehabilitation efforts.
“As instead of focusing on their restoration as law-abiding citizens, smuggling continues to support criminal attitudes and behaviours. I am confident that most of you have been following the media and recall a recent case in which a public member was defrauded of a lot of money due to an illegal car deal. This was done through cell phones smuggled into the facility,” said Armas.
In this vein, he called on the public’s assistance to assist the NCS in the fight against contrabands.
“Should you encounter any incidents or be aware of public members or correctional officers who wish to smuggle contraband with inmates, please do not hesitate to contact our facility or the nearest police station. Let us work together to make our facilities free of contraband for the effective rehabilitation of offenders.”
The anti-contraband awareness campaign was necessitated by an alarming upsurge in the influx of contrabands trafficked into the facility by correctional officers/staff, offenders, and sometimes unsuspecting public members.
