Sam Walker 'arrested' in Sierra Leone while leading 'peaceful protest'

Sam Walker has been arrested in Sierra Leone according to a man claiming to be a friend of his.

Walker, 39, who has dozens of convictions for over 130 offences, reportedly travelled to the West African country in March, claiming to have absconded from the UK after being bailed following another arrest.

He regularly documents his life on his social media pages, and described making an elaborate-sounding journey to Africa, which allegedly included chartering a private plane and using a speed boat to cross the Mediterranean in order to avoid border checks after having his passport seized.

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Walker claims to have gone to Sierra Leone to help children living in poverty. In a post on his TikTok and Instagram account earlier this year, he said: "I'm going to the slums to get these kids their operations so they can see their families again."

His friend Samuel, 32, contacted the ECHO this evening to alert us to Walker's alleged arrest. Samuel said: "He's out in Sierra Leone and was doing a peaceful protest in the street. Then the police arrested him and put him in jail. That was four days ago. I'm really worried about him."

Samuel, a videographer, met Walker in April when he was in Sierra Leone making a documentary about boxing. He said: "Some people say he's only over there for the diamonds not the children. But I've seen it with my own eyes. He's doing God's work. He's standing up for the children."

A video posted on Walker's TikTok account appears to back up Samuel's claims, but we have not yet been able to confirm his claims with official sources. The video shows Walker apparently sitting in the back of a police van, marked as belonging to the police department of Aberdeen, a suburb if Freetown, talking to the camera through a wire-covered window.

Walker can be heard saying: ""I will happily do prison. I don't give a s**t."

"You can put me in the most violent filthy, unpredictable jail in the continent of Africa and I promise you I will come out with my head held high."

At the end of March, Walker claimed to have been arrested by military police in the West African country. Following the claims of his arrest, the ECHO contacted the Foreign Office for confirmation.

We were told at the time that the Foreign Office had not been approached for consular assistance on the case, but staff were ready to provide assistance if needed.

Walker has spent the vast majority of his adult life in prison for a catalogue of crimes including violence, firearms and drug supply - and has had notorious spats with the likes of former gangster Stephen French and footballer Ross Barkley. Walker was jailed for four-and-a-half years back in 2008 after becoming notorious for peddling heroin and crack cocaine on the streets of Halton.

Earning up to £2,500 a day, the mob spread misery around Widnes, Runcorn and the surrounding areas, before being caught in a police sting that saw £12m of drugs seized, along with luxury cars, bundles of cash and jewellery. Walker was released after serving half of that sentence, but has been repeatedly hauled back before the courts. He became known for his courtroom outbursts, branding sentences a "stitch up" and claiming one hearing was a "kangaroo court", yet on other occasions he came across as charming and polite.

On one occasion Walker was handed an additional sentence for contempt of court after he waged a verbal battle with one high court judge. Originally convicted of a 100mph police chase, Walker waved a copy of the ECHO containing a story about a sex offender to compare his punishment to the community sentences given to some paedophiles.

Walker has dedicated a lot of his recent social media activity to claiming he is a victim of "constant police harassment". Walker claimed he was arrested near Bournemouth, Dorset, on February 14 and bailed on suspicion of supplying class A drugs.

Dorset Police told the ECHO the force does not confirm whether someone is or is not part of a police investigation. Walker faces the possibility of being jailed for breaching the terms of his bail upon his return to the UK.

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