The suspect
The Eastern Regional Police Command has arrested a 57-year-old man believed to be behind a series of shoplifting incidents captured in videos that recently went viral on TikTok and other social media platforms.
The suspect, Nsiah Samuel, a self-acclaimed chief and minister of the gospel residing at Akrade in the Eastern Region, was arrested on November 5, 2026 by the Somanya District Police Command, acting on intelligence gathered in collaboration with the Borteyman Police in Accra.
He was arrested at a hideout at Akode, near Somanya, at about 3:30 p.m. In a statement signed by Chief Inspector Bridget Opoku of the Public Affairs Unit, Eastern Regional Police Command, the police said the suspect, upon interrogation, admitted to stealing consumable items, electronics, clothing, and other shop goods from retail outlets across Kibi, Suhum, Ashaiman, Accra Central, Koforidua, Tema, Akosombo, Adenta, and other locations in the southern part of Ghana.
The suspect has since been handed over to the Borteyman Police for further investigation.
The arrest followed days of intense public anger on social media after several closed-circuit television (CCTV) clips purportedly showing the same man taking items from shops circulated widely online, particularly on TikTok.
The videos, which showed the suspect allegedly stealing from different retail outlets, quickly trended, attracting widespread public attention and prompting public calls for police action.
Many social media users expressed shock and outrage that the man, who presented himself as a chief and a minister of the gospel, could allegedly be involved in repeated thefts.
Others shared the videos repeatedly, tagged the Ghana Police Service, and demanded his immediate arrest, while some shop owners also came forward to share similar experiences. The online agitation, according to the police, contributed directly to the breakthrough, as members of the public provided vigilance, information and intelligence that helped officers trace the suspect to his hideout.
BY Prince Fiifi Yorke