In a significant development following the fatal shooting of a Sydney underworld figure in Vietnam, authorities have revealed images of two Australian nationals they wish to question in connection with the incident.
Lorenzo Lemalu, aged 24, was a prominent leader within the infamous Coconut Cartel and previously linked with the Alameddine crime family. He was tragically gunned down outside a restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday night in a brazen attack.
Surveillance footage captured the harrowing moment as Lemalu stood on a bustling sidewalk with several individuals, only to be shot at close range amidst stunned diners in the area.
In the same attack, Sam Sauni, 27, also affiliated with the Coconut Cartel and hailing from Sydney’s south-west, sustained serious injuries. His current condition remains undisclosed, according to reports from Nine News.
Vietnamese police have since initiated a comprehensive investigation and have circulated photographs of two Australians they are keen to interview regarding the case.
Lang Kenny Trong Minh Do, 36, and Justin John White, 39, reportedly departed Ho Chi Minh City by taxi. They were last seen exiting near a supermarket in Tay Ninh, a town close to the Cambodian border, as detailed in the police bulletin.
Their whereabouts are currently unknown.
Police described the men as ‘particularly dangerous’ and urged the public to not approach them but report any possible sightings, according to local news reports.
Lorenzo Lemalu, 24, a senior leader of the notorious Coconut Cartel and former associate of the Alameddine crime family, was shot dead in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday night
Police in Vietnam would like to speak to Australian nationals Lang Kenny Trong Minh Do, 36, (left) and White Justin John, 39, (right)
There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by the men, only that police wish to speak to them.
CCTV posted online showed the moment Lemalu was gunned down by a hooded gunman in a busy dining precinct.
A wounded Lemalu fled into a nearby restaurant, where he collapsed.
As shocked diners ran for cover, another victim fell onto the road but managed to crawl onto the footpath.
He was then dragged into a restaurant by a bystander to get help.
Another man was seen crouching down next to Lemalu’s bloodied body inside a restaurant, trying to render first aid while speaking to staff.
Another photo shows paramedics desperately working to revive Lemalu.
Lemalu was a former member of Proper 60, a western Sydney-based gang linked to the Alameddines led by Ali Younes aka Ay Huncho and had the group’s name tattooed across his stomach.
Fellow Coconut Cartel associate Sam Sauni, 27, was also shot but survived
Lorenzo Lemalu was shot multiple times and could not be revived
Lemalu was a senior leader with Coconut Cartel after falling out with the Alameddines
It’s understood Lemalu fell out with the Alameddines some time after fleeing Australia four years ago and began directing the Coconut Cartel’s activities from South-East Asia.
The Coconut Cartel is a breakaway gang locked in an underworld crime feud with the Alameddines over control of the Sydney drug scene.
Photos emerged online last November of Lemalu eating a golden-leafed steak in Dubai, and was pictured in Albania just last month.
Messages obtained by SCN Worldstar and reportedly sent by members of the Alameddine network suggest they claimed credit for the execution.
‘That’s what happens when Coconuts try (and) fight the people that made them,’ a message read.
But not everyone believes the execution is linked with the Sydney gangland wars, in the wake of a series of firebombings and drive-by shootings across the city in recent months.
‘The big rumour is they ripped off some Albanians and that’s why he was killed,’ a gangster living overseas told the Daily Telegraph.
There are grave fears the killing was the latest chapter in Sydney’s ongoing gang wars and could spark revenge attacks.
The latest execution happened just two nights after Alai Ahio, 28, a former associate of notorious rap group OneFour, was shot dead in what police described as a targeted attack in south-west Sydney.
Lemalu was pictured enjoying a gold-leafed steak in Dubai last November
Lorenzo Lemalu was shot dead outside a restaurant in Vietnam on Thursday night
He was at a Canley Heights home with four other men when they were ambushed by at least two attackers armed with guns and knives on Tuesday night.
He was driven to Liverpool Hospital, where he died a short time later.
Four other men were also injured but survived.
The attackers fled the scene in a white SUV and remain on the run.
