The arrest of four persons, two of them Guineans, over their suspected armed robbery activities especially, the murder of the young constable, is a matter of concern.
Although these are early days yet, we have cause to be excited about the inroad being made by the law enforcement agents.
Even more exciting and instructive is the fact that two of the suspects are non-Ghanaians, their alleged involvement in the Adedenkpo bullion robbery standing tall.
The milestone reached so far has been made possible through public/police cooperation.
Without such cooperation, the police would be stuck in their investigations.
Non Ghanaian robbers, it will appear, have found in Ghana a safe place to ply their killer occupation.
It will be instructive to find out how many robbery operations such foreigners have undertaken since they took up their illegal residence in Africa’s second most peaceful country.
Our hospitability has been stretched to the seams and we are beginning to cry out albeit faintly. Of course, we have never been xenophobic and that is the reason why we have harboured many nationals over decades, some of them illegal migrants.
We may not change our welcoming nature since that is ingrained in our DNA; we shall resist it however, when such illegal migrants join hands with local criminals to undertake armed robbery in this country.
We shall also continue to abide by the ECOWAS protocols as good members of the bloc even as we take exception to the impunity being exuded by some of our bad guests. Those who managed to sneak through our porous borders into our country must show reverence to us by being law-abiding.
Our hospitability should not be taken for a weakness to be exploited to our detriment.
We salute the law enforcement officers who managed to decapitate the 26-year-old Guinean and did not kill him. He should be able to disclose a lot of stuff which would help our security agents in their assignments.
It is instructive that some armed robbers combine their deadly trade with illegal mining as some of the suspects have showed.
At the height of the sophisticated and daring armed robberies, some in broad daylight, many were they who saw the hands of foreign criminals. We are beginning to appreciate their suspicions.
We are compelled to recall the admonition by the Ghana Immigration Service to landlords to ascertain the immigration status of non-Ghanaians, who seek accommodation in their properties.
This call, unfortunately, it would appear, is not being adhered to, creating an open space for such illegal immigrants to rent their rooms at often exorbitant rates.
The armed robbery network is wide. The information so far available to the police could only be a tip of the iceberg. It is for this reason that we join the Police Administration in asking that those with information about crime should be forthcoming with these especially, the Adedenkpo bullion robbery.
The murder of the twelve year old boy in the Volta Region recently could have been averted, had the man who eavesdropped the conversation of the accomplices called the attention of law enforcement on time. Although he did so eventually, and that led to the arrest of the suspects, the boy was murdered nonetheless.