Contraband raids inside Long Bay Jail
There is no police or corrective services officer who thinks their job is done when criminals are caught and locked behind bars.
With a smuggled mobile phone they're often able to run sophisticated gang activities from inside prison walls.
Which is why Corrective Services conducts raids, launching them at lightning speed before the evidence disappears.
In an exclusive report 7News presenter Mark Ferguson was allowed inside the walls of Long Bay Correctional Facility in Malabar, NSW.
Our exclusive pictures show you a little of the war being waged against prisoners.
They're the inmates who go to amazing lengths to smuggle weapons, drugs and mobile phones into our jails.
Our team went on a raid at Long Bay at one of the maximum security wings deep inside the jail to see first hand how the prisoners are caught.
A police officer said: "Intelligence suggests that contraband has been introduced into this area."
A walk - that becomes a quick creep - and soon becomes a sprint.
Inmates yell 'red light' it's a warning to others a raid is underway.
Steve Davis, from Security Operations Group, said: "As you can see, once they know we are inside a lot of them will get rid of their contraband through the toilet or other means, so element of suprise is very important."
"Quickly and as quietly as possible?"
"Absolutely."
The officers yell "Up up up - show us your hands" and then every centimetre of the cells are searched from top to bottom.
High tech scanners are able to pinpoint a mobile phone - no matter where it's hidden on or inside an inmate's body and and everyone is watching on.
There's nothing random about the search, the teams have very specific intelligence and very specific targets.
Machettes, knives, drugs, phones and sim cards are all found in the searches.
The officers were most concerned with the mobile devices found because they would allow the inmates to run criminal organisations.
One man was filmed hauling bags full of contraband over a prison fence.
They were was jam packed with 12 mobile phones, 24 sim cards, 94 needles, alcohol even a Rambo-style hunting knife.
