EXCLUSIVE: Inside a Sydney prison raid

FIRST ON 7: A crackdown on contraband in the State's prisons has seen a 58 percent jump in the number of inmates caught with illegal items.

7News was granted exclusive access to a raid at a prison in Western Sydney.

In the dark, 16 crack prison officers moved in on the John Moroney jail, near Windsor.

"The teams have a specific target, from intelligence that we've received," prison officer Ellen Forsyth said.

The policemen and women searched for contraband, and nothing was off limits - there is no such thing as privacy for prisoners.

They found secret hiding spots in mattresses, in televisions, books - or hidden behind wall tiles.

"That could be jail-made weapons, syringes, mobile phones," prison officer Shannon Kay said.

Drugs are often discovered, after they are smuggled in by visitors.

The number of New South Wales prisoners caught with contraband has jumped from 125 in 2011 - to 198 last year, mainly because of 17,000 raids.

Inmates are pulled from bed, searched, and sniffed by a drug dog. A guard noticed screws on a light cover were loose, which suggested that the inmate was up to something.

The roof is clear so the entire room was pulled apart, and hidden behind a power socket was a mobile phone.

"Mobile phones have been used to continue organised crime in particular outside," Corrective Services Commissioner Peter Severin said.

When officers do find something, the penalties are severe, it could mean taking away privileges like personal visits, televisions, or even time in isolation or they face fines.

Prisoners caught with a phone face another two years behind bars.

"Every find, is one that indicates to us, that we've taken something out of circulation that can potentially be dangerous or harmful to others," Commissioner Peter Severin said.

The challenge is to stay one step ahead.