Lorenzo Lemalu: Two men charged with conspiracy to commit murder after Sydney gangland figure’s killing in Vietnam

Two more men have been charged over the shock Vietnam killing of a Sydney gangland figure.

Lorenzo Lemalu, 24, was gunned down on the streets of Ho Chi Minh on May 21 in what police believe was a targeted assassination.

The slain man was believed to be a senior figure in Sydney’s underworld crime crew the Coconut Cartel.

Following his death, Vietnamese police charged two Samoan men, Vaa Vaa and Steve Tafia, with his murder, alleging the pair spent a week in the southeast Asian country tracking Mr Lemalu before his death.

On Thursday, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) said Samoan authorities had arrested two more men in connection with the killing.

The pair, a New Zealand national, 31, and a Samoan national, 33, were charged with “conspiracy to murder” on September 10 and were released on bail on Wednesday.

“Samoa Police will allege these men conspired with the Samoan men arrested in Vietnam to carry out the alleged murder in Vietnam,” the AFP said.

AFP Acting Commander Pacific Greg Davis said the charges “are the result of extensive co-operation between Samoa Police, Vietnamese authorities and the AFP”.

“Organised crime does not respect national boundaries, so law enforcement agencies must work together to combat them. Criminal networks rely on international connections to facilitate serious offending, which is why regional partnerships are critical to disrupting and dismantling them,” he said.

“The Pacific remains a strong and united front against transnational organised crime, and the AFP is proud to work alongside our law enforcement partners to protect communities and pursue those who seek to cause harm.”

Originally published as Lorenzo Lemalu: Two men charged with conspiracy to commit murder after Sydney gangland figure’s killing in Vietnam