{"id":294889,"date":"2025-11-21T09:45:34","date_gmt":"2025-11-21T07:45:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnuus\/official-at-mangaung-correctional-centre-busted-for-drug-smuggling\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T16:46:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T14:46:17","slug":"official-at-mangaung-correctional-centre-busted-for-drug-smuggling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/official-at-mangaung-correctional-centre-busted-for-drug-smuggling\/","title":{"rendered":"Official at Mangaung Correctional Centre busted for drug smuggling"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>BLOEMFONTEIN<\/strong> &#8211; A 36-year-old employee at the <a href=\"http:\/\/Mangaung Correctional Centre\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mangaung Correctional Centre i<\/a>n Bloemfontein has been arrested for smuggling drugs. The facility is also known as the Group 4 Correctional Facility. Thabo Bester, the &#8220;Facebook rapist,&#8221; escaped from here May 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The arrested official is due to appear in the Bloemfontein Magistrates&#8217; Court today, Friday 21 November. He faces a charge of possession of drugs, namely Mandrax and dagga. He was arrested yesterday, Thursday, at the correctional centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lt. Col. Thabo Covane, spokesperson for the Free State police in Bloemfontein, says the employee is suspected of drug trafficking. He holds the position of Direct Supervision Officer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Covane says intelligence-driven information was received about the smuggling of contraband goods into the facility. This led to a collaborative search by the Department of Correctional Services and South African Police Service (SAPS) in the Mangaung Metro area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Exhibit-in-dugs-found-in-the-officials-lunch-box.jpg\" alt=\"In Bloemfontein, a correctional officer faces charges for possession of drugs after a police investigation.\" class=\"wp-image-294743\" style=\"width:709px;height:auto\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An exhibit of drugs the police found in the official&#8217;s lunch box. PHOTO: Supplied<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;During a random search of the Direct Supervision Officer&#8217;s locker, 149 Mandrax tablets and compressed dagga were found in his lunchbox. The tablets were sealed with masking tape and compressed dagga in a transparent plastic bag was found hidden in the suspect&#8217;s food. A fork was used to find the concealed drugs,&#8221; says Covane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Covane, the smuggled drugs have an estimated street value of R900. He says a drug possession case docket was opened at the Bloemspruit Police Station, adding that the investigation is ongoing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In Bloemfontein, a correctional officer faces charges for possession of drugs after a police 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This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.8 (Yoast SEO v27.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Correctional Centre Drug Smuggling Incident Uncovered | BloemNews Express<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In Bloemfontein, a correctional officer faces charges for possession of drugs after a police investigation. 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