A male visitor was also intercepted with four balloons of tobacco stuffed inside his socks in the weekend operation.

The Security Operations Group used K9 dogs during raids at Cessnock, Silverwater Women’s and Goulburn correctional centres, targeting inmates, cells, common areas and visitors and seizing drugs, mobile phones and tobacco.

In Goulburn, one woman allegedly had 14 balloons filled with 36 Xanax tablets in her bra when visiting on Saturday. On Sunday, another woman was allegedly found with 13 balloons containing 28.9g of tobacco, also in her bra. They were all issued court attendance notices.

Across the three prisons, the raids netted the followed contraband:

Minister for Corrections David Elliott said contraband was a constant challenge in the correctional system and that it was a risk to the safety and security of staff and inmates.

“I’m absolutely appalled that this weekend’s searches resulted in four visitors facing charges of attempting to smuggle contraband into a correctional centre – essentially placing the lives of our staff at risk,” he said.

“I want to remind visitors to centres that we will not tolerate this illegal activity and you will be caught and penalised.

“Intelligence officers at each centre monitor 24/7 for suspicious behaviour and this, combined with the detection skills of our SOG officers and K9 team, means that if you break the law you will be caught.”

CSNSW Commissioner Peter Severin praised the work of officers for preventing the contraband from being smuggled into the centres.

“CSNSW officers maintain a constant battle in staying one step ahead of inmates gaining access to illegal substances, and it doesn’t help that these visitors are recklessly disregarding the law,” he said.