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New Zealand and Samoan Nationals Charged over Alleged Vietnam Murder
The men face conspiracy to murder charges after investigators linked the shooting to a four-month international probe, police said.
- On Thursday, the Australian Federal Police announced that Samoan authorities charged a 31-year-old New Zealander and 33-year-old Samoan with conspiracy to murder Sydney gang leader Lorenzo Lemalu in Vietnam.
- Lemalu, purportedly a leader of the 'Coconut Cartel,' was gunned down outside a restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City on May 21; Vietnamese authorities previously arrested two other Samoan nationals, Vaa Vaa and Steve Tafia, for the alleged hit.
- Following an investigation by the AFP and Samoa Police that revealed local links to the Vietnam killing, the men appeared in a Samoan court on Wednesday and were granted conditional bail.
- Authorities allege these men conspired with the suspects arrested in Vietnam to execute the killing; the offense carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment under Samoa's Crimes Act.
- Federal police chief Krissy Barrett warned that Australia's "voracious consumption" of drugs fuels regional gang violence; the AFP credited the arrests to extensive cooperation between Samoan, Vietnamese, and Australian authorities.
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources11
Leaning Left1Leaning Right4Center3Last UpdatedBias Distribution50% Right
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources lean Right
50% Right
13%
C 37%
R 50%
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