The arrest of a Burkinabe gunrunner in the Upper East Region last week is telling.
It comes on the heels of armed robbers almost on rampage across the country.
He was arrested by eagle-eyed cops who ignored a GH¢5,000 bribe overture and did what they are remunerated to do.
It is heartwarming to know that we have more dedicated cops ready to lift high the banner of the Ghana Police Service by protecting lives and property of their compatriots.
We deem it important to highlight this act of patriotism because such rare feats should not be overwhelmed by the negative ones which headliners come across often.
Were we to have more of such dedication, we would have gone a long way in our efforts at stopping the proliferation of illicit firearms which kill innocent citizens.
In a previous commentary, we expressed dismay about the bluff of armed robbers in the country.
The incidence of armed robbery was in previous years confined to the southern fringes of the country. Today, the northern sector constitutes part of the turf of the criminals, suggesting that the whole country is covered unfortunately.
It is not difficult to determine how illicit firearms enter the country. With such sophisticated assault rifles restricted only to state actors and not individuals, smuggling is the only means by which they reach criminal elements.
It will be interesting to find out the origin of the seized pistol which could have found its way into the private armoury of armed robbers in some parts of the country but for the dedication to duty of some good cops.
Such knowledge would prime our national security managers with the necessary insight into the movement of illicit firearms.
In Burkina Faso, such weapons when found would attract immediate police action and so the suspect must have found an ingenious means of moving weapon to the frontier of the francophone country.
Today, Burkina Faso and Mali are part of the Sahelian countries hosting Islamist fighters whose smoking guns have made disturbing international news.
Bandits abound in the northern parts of the West African sub-region, and from these hotspots weapons can move through the warren of routes crisscrossing the territories.
Our security managers must be adequately educated about the sophisticated movement of firearms. This way they would be in a better position to deal with gunrunners.
Let the security agents stop the influx of guns through the country’s frontiers. These are important gun routes for firearms.
Cops who allow gunrunners to have field days are preparing the grounds for armed robbers to kill them or their colleagues or family members in other parts of the country.
It would be prudent for the political leadership of the sub-region to spearhead a joint response to the gunrunning menace. Nigeria, Niger, Burkina Faso and Ghana are all suffering the effects of this killer trade which cannot be dealt with by individual countries save jointly.