Liverpool Gangster Sam Walker Arrested in Vietnam, Films Incident for TikTok
A notorious Liverpool gangster turned social media content creator has been apprehended by undercover police officers in Vietnam, according to a video he shared with his 168,000 TikTok followers. Sam Walker, who previously documented his journey from Liverpool to West Africa after skipping bail over drug offences, filmed plain-clothed officers apparently tailing him in the capital city of Hanoi.
Arrest Filmed and Shared on Social Media
The 42-year-old self-confessed career criminal is surrounded by men who request to inspect his visa before he is placed into the back of a police vehicle. While the precise reasons for his apparent arrest remain unclear, in other videos circulating on social media platforms, Walker states he anticipates facing 'section 18 charges even though I didn’t do nothing'. Under English law, a Section 18 assault carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Walker, who boasts more than 100 crimes on his record, once threatened to end the professional football career of star Ross Barkley. Last year, he utilised social media to debunk outlandish online rumours alleging he was actually Robert Thompson, one of the murderers of Merseyside toddler James Bulger.
Recent Legal History and Judicial Warnings
He was last in court during January when charges of sending a communication threatening serious violence, relating to voice notes he allegedly sent to a woman, were dropped. Walker, from Liverpool, had previously been unable to attend hearings in that case due to injuries sustained when he was stabbed and shot in July 2025, according to his legal representative.
However, he was reprimanded by a judge over one video in which he informed followers 'I don’t wanna be sat in a court all f****** day wasting my f****** time'. Expressing her 'surprise' over the clip given he was then facing a potential trial, Judge Louise Brandon cautioned Walker that he needed to 'give very thoughtful care' about his social media posts, as reported by the Liverpool Echo.
Filming the Arrest in Hanoi
In the latest clips, Walker films himself walking through Hanoi while apparently being followed by undercover police, commenting: 'That’s heavy, that.' He then complies as officers confirm his identity before taking him away. This incident follows several videos and live streams he posted of himself in the southeast Asian nation.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is understood to be in contact with the Vietnamese authorities regarding his alleged detention. In 2024, Walker taunted police from Sierra Leone after fleeing the United Kingdom by private jet and undertaking a 2,000-mile hitch on a cargo ship.
Previous Escapades and Criminal Background
Skipping bail after being arrested on suspicion of a drug supply plot, Walker embarked on a six-day journey criss-crossing Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa to evade border checks. He was repeating an audacious journey he made in 2018—while also wanted by police—where he was nicknamed the Bad Samaritan after claiming to have used the trip to assist in rebuilding slums.
However, according to his own TikTok posts, he was arrested in Sierra Leone during the 2024 trip, stating in a video that he will 'happily do prison'. 'I don't give a s***,' he adds. Walker has spent the majority of his adult life in and out of jail.
He was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison in 2008 after being caught peddling heroin and crack cocaine on the streets of Widnes and Runcorn in Cheshire. His gang earned up to £2,500 per day before being caught in a police sting that resulted in £12 million worth of drugs seized along with luxury cars, bundles of cash, and jewellery.
High-Profile Threats and Media Attention
He made front-page headlines in 2014 when he publicly threatened Aston Villa and former England ace Barkley, then an Everton player. The sinister Twitter message, sparked by a dispute over an ex-girlfriend of the footballer in 2014, declared: 'Inbox me a number for you, ya little rat! You know wot this is about so don't play stupid or your footie career will come to an end!'
In 2019, he faced criticism after it was revealed he had established his own YouTube channel from behind bars. In another series of videos from his jail cell, the convicted drug dealer went viral after hosting his own 'Prisoners' Got Talent' show in 2022.
