Sydney, Australia — Police have launched a major investigation after a gunman armed with an AK-47 opened fire on a building believed to be hosting the funeral of slain Sydney gangster Lorenzo Lemalu. However, no one was present at the time, as the venue had been moved at the last minute.
Lemalu, believed to be the leader of the so-called “Coconut Cartel”—a loosely organised criminal network with reported Tongan membership and connections across Australia and the Pacific—was killed in Vietnam last month under circumstances that remain unclear.
Two Samoan men have since confessed to carrying out the killing on Vietnamese television.
About 24 hours after the shooting at the original venue, dozens of mourners gathered at the new location — Lakemba Mosque in Sydney’s western suburbs — to farewell Lemalu.
The development comes after Sydney Police said they dismantled the Coconut Cartel last month — a gang involved in a months-long feud with the Alameddine crime family over control of Sydney’s illicit drug market — following the seizure of nearly 400 kilograms of methamphetamine and the arrest of its alleged onshore leader.
As previously reported, several men of Tongan descent were arrested following police efforts to dismantle the Coconut Cartel.
Those brought before Blacktown Local Court included Isoa Moimoi, 27, Sione Tupou, 25, and Eric Hema, 29, all understood by Kaniva News to be of Tongan heritage. They face charges including drug supply and participating in a criminal group.
The Daily Telegraph also published a list of individuals arrested, which we understand includes people of Tongan descent such as Henry Kupa, 27, Sonny Puleiku, 23, and Talanoa Leaaetoa, 27.
As Kaniva News previously reported, police are investigating whether the death of 28-year-old Tongan man Alai Ahio in Canley Heights is linked to the Coconut Cartel.
Ahio, a former associate of the Western Sydney drill rap group OneFour, was among five men shot while sitting in a garage. Police have stressed there is no suggestion of wrongdoing by the victims or the music group.
