Early this month the police seized a cache of handguns from a motor vessel at Arawak Cay, during a search, on information said to be from "a concerned citizen." The guns were reportedly found in a water heater, which was stored in a container aboard the boat.

No one was arrested then and the investigations were said to be continuing. Does this mean that the vessel in question is now under constant police surveillance, with searches after every trip from South Florida, or perhaps members of the ship's crew are continually under scrutiny when they leave the vessel?

One thing is certain: Someone put those guns in that hiding place and someone was supposed to take them out. However, there is no one in custody and whoever was involved in that conspiracy may have now changed their method of operation.

The question that may now be asked is, did the police act too hastily in finding and removing the guns or should they have waited to apprehend someone taking possession of the smuggled contraband?

It is unquestioned that there are illegal guns being brought into this country in abundance, as is evidenced by the numbers that are frequently confiscated and displayed by the police. It is also seen in the many armed robberies and killings being committed with these illegal weapons, which also raise the seriousness of the current gun laws.

We stated a few years ago that there were too many illegal guns in the country, which would not disappear by talk and wishful thinking, but needed harsh and decisive measures. We asked then how long would the fear of crime be allowed to permeate the land while the criminals brazenly flout the law, with no regard to consequences. In the interim nothing has changed and the people with their illegal firearms have seemed to be even more presumptuous.

In The Bahamas, with the death sentence now being discretionary for murder, it is time to revisit the law with regard to illegal gun possession and to bring sentencing on conviction more in line with the times. And we don't have to look too far to find guidelines. In Florida the law says if a person were convicted for just pulling an illegal gun, the prison sentence would be 10 years. If that gun was fired then that convicted person's prison time would be 20 years and if someone was shot, the sentence would be from 25 years to life behind bars. Posters and billboards throughout the state clearly say, "Use a gun and you're done. Ten years to life."

The stash found aboard the vessel at Arawak Cay was a small number, but one that could wreak much havoc and grief among the population. What of those larger numbers, which come in undetected, and are distributed throughout the criminal element in the country?

For too long now the residents of this island and nation have had to hide behind the locked and barred doors and windows of their own homes. They wonder if they will ever feel safe in arriving home at night without the fear of being confronted by people with guns, who will not hesitate to do them harm.

This dilemma cannot be allowed to continue indefinitely and at some point, the police, the government and all the law abiding residents of the land will have to put a handle on it.