Operation Vala seized 8,000+ phones and drugs across South African prisons with no escapes, despite overcrowding.

The Department of Correctional Services concluded its 2025/26 Operation Vala, conducting 5,592 searches across correctional centers and seizing over 8,000 illegal cellphones, 46kg of dagga, thousands of dagga slopes and blades, over 1,000 Mandrax tablets, R102,726 in cash, counterfeit notes, and foreign currency. Gauteng led in cellphone seizures, while the Eastern Cape, Free State, and Northern Cape had the most sharpened objects recovered. KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and North West saw the largest drug busts. Despite a prison population exceeding 170,739—well above the 107,067 approved capacity—the operation reported no escapes, with officials crediting improved intelligence-led strategies and decentralized management.