No cheers: Westville Prison guards confiscate over 400 litres of beer on NYE

A pre-dawn raid at Durban’s Westville Prison resulted in the discovery of over 400 litres of home brewed beer. The raid was part of Operation Vala, an attempt to increase safety at prisons over the festive season.

The SABC reports that plastic barrels of home-brewed beer was discovered, made from bread and cold drinks. The raid last over four hours. Over 400 litres of beer, 50 contraband cellphones and 30 Sim cards were also discovered. One prisoner even tried to swallow bank notes worth R1300. No weapons were present, however.

KwaZulu-Natal Correctional Services Commissioner Mnikelwa Nxele says he is satisfied with the raid.

“We should up the game when it comes to preventative measures to ensure those things don’t get inside. And we should up our game also on the detection. Especially, when it comes to the sorghum beer.”

According to local media, violence in the prison has started to decrease after patrol dogs were introduced in the prison’s corridors. A dialogue programme has also been started.