Commissioner General of the Namibian Correctional Service, Raphael Tuhafeni Hamunyela has said the Namibian Correctional Service will no longer allow visitors to bring goods for inmates during visits.

Hamunyela made the remarks here Friday while pronouncing eased COVID-19 restrictions after the restrictions introduced on 17 July 2021 which applied at all correctional facilities countrywide, lapsed on 31 July.

He said the suspension of receiving parcels is due to an increase in the number of smuggling of prohibited items onto the correctional facility premises.

“We call on families to rather deposit money into the NamPost accounts of the inmates in order for them to buy their own supplies such as toiletries, thereby decreasing the chances of prohibited items from entering into correctional facilities,” he said.

According to the commissioner general, prohibited items found in cells during recent random searches by correctional officers included 102 mobile phones, 97 tobacco items and drug parcels comprising marijuana (69), cocaine (1) and Mandrax (1). The number of visitors arrested for attempting to smuggle prohibited goods into the facilities include 12 found in possession of drugs, five found with cellphones and 10 found with tobacco.

“We sympathise with some of the arrested culprits who claim to be innocent, alleging that they were just sent to bring parcels and didn’t look or know what was in the parcel or they do not know the person who sent them, however the Namibian Correctional Service will hold you accountable if you bring a parcel with prohibited items into its facilities,” Hamunyela warned.

Receiving of parcels at hospitals and courts are also prohibited.

Hamunyela further warned members of the public to be aware of scams, saying they have discovered that members of the public, mostly those in the business community fall victim to scams initiated by inmates through business transactions where the inmates use cellphones smuggled onto the facilities and pretend to be interested buyers or sellers of goods.

Source: Namibia Press Agency