Figures released by the DCS in Parliament in July 2025 reveal that around 250 tons of cannabis was seized during raids on jails in the previous financial year. Ten prisons, out of the 243 run by the DCS, alone accounted for almost 134 tons of confiscated cannabis.
Last year’s seizures equalled the total of the previous three year’s seizures.
There is no way of knowing what percentage these seizures represent of the total amount of cannabis and other drugs that are being trafficked through South Africa’s jails on a regular basis.
Under National Commissoner Makgothi Thobakgale, the DCS has increased its surprise search and seizure raids on jails, but opposition parties say that stats show the Government is losing control over its jails.
“The statistics of what has been confiscated are staggering, but the real truth of what has been consumed without being caught is the very real crisis,” said DA parliamentarian Nicholas Gotsell, quoted in The Citizen on 12 August 2025.
ActionSA stated there was no adherence to the department’s drug master plan and claimed that the drug trade thrived in prisons.
“There is zero effort to curb open and shameless drug dealing within prison walls. Shockingly, prisoners are not subjected to drug tests upon entry,” said ActionSA’s Dereleen James.
Historically the Western Cape has accounted for most cannabis seizures at its various facilities. Between 2021 and 2022 almost 250 tons of cannabis was confiscated from South Africa’s jails, with the Western Cape accounting for almost 100 tons.
However Limpopo appears to have come to the fore in the past year with Thohoyandou Medium B alone accounting for 43 tons of confiscated cannabis. In a recent raid, the National Commissioner said it was clear there was collusion between DCS officials, inmates and suppliers in cannabis distribution on a large scale.
The Top 10 Prisons as per amount of cannabis seized during 2024/5 financial year, according to the DCS:
1. Thohoyandou Medium B, Limpopo – 42,332 kg
2. East London, Eastern Cape – 20,805 kg
3. Witbank, Mpumulanga- 18,875 kg
4. Losperfontein, North West – 13,015 kg
5. Kirkwood, Eastern Cape – 9,927 kg
6. Drakenstein Medium A, Western Cape – 8,896 kg
7. Klerksdorp, North West – 6,679 kg
8. Rustenburg, North West – 6,554 kg
9. Durban Maximum Security, KwaZulu Natal – 4928 kg
10. Barberton Medium B, Mpumulanga – 3,105 kg
The DCS says it is clamping down on contraband and that it is making headway in Gauteng where cannabis confiscations were down from 5,7 tons in the 2023/4 financial year to a mere 282 kg last year.
It says Gauteng drug confiscations are working as there has been a dramatic reduction in amounts seized at eight of the province’s prisons compared to the national average.
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