Potential hideout spots in Thailand are among the places Australian police are investigating as they look to find the wanted son of shot ex-Kiwis star Matt Utai.
The 44-year-old former winger almost died after he was shot outside his Sydney home on February 17 in a drive-by shooting as he prepared to go to work.
His shooting occurred amid a growing turf war between the high-profile Alameddine criminal network and recently formed rivals calling themselves the Coconut Cartel.
Australian gang experts have previously told the Herald that gaining control of Sydney’s multibillion-dollar cocaine market was likely to be the main driver of the conflict.
New South Wales Police have confirmed that Utai has no known criminal associations - but his son Iziah (also known as Ziggy) has. The 24-year-old is a former associate of the Alameddine criminal network and has now been linked to the Coconut Cartel.
In 2023, Iziah Utai was jailed after he was found with weapons, cash and drugs after a raid on a Sydney home. He also has an earlier conviction for armed robbery.
He is on the run from police investigating last year’s gangland murder of senior Alameddine member Dawood Zakaria.
Zakaria was fatally shot while he was waiting at a set of traffic lights in Sydney on May 25 last year. Iziah reportedly left Australia five days later.
Earlier that month, a Sydney barbershop registered to Iziah Utai was firebombed and destroyed over successive nights.
Detectives investigating the Alameddine/Coconut Cartel feud believe Matt Utai was targeted in place of his son, who remains in hiding.
Sydney’s Daily Telegraph has now reported that Thailand is an area of interest for officers seeking Iziah Utai.
The Australian Federal Police have a unit based at the Australian Embassy in Bangkok.
Australia also has an extradition treaty with Thailand for the return of those charged or wanted over serious criminal matters.
The Daily Telegraph has also reported that police are investigating whether the Coconut Cartel is being bankrolled by an Asian organised crime network heavily involved in the illicit tobacco trade.
New South Wales police arrested six people, including teenagers, in relation to the shooting of Matt Utai, who was found writhing on his front lawn with critical injuries from two gunshot wounds.
The arrests included the alleged 25-year-old gunman and his 15-year-old alleged getaway driver.
Officers are also investigating whether the shooting was ordered by someone within the Alameddine gang who had earlier left Australia.
Police say the Coconut Cartel has strong Pasifika links and comprises mainly former associates or “muscle” for the Alameddines.
Detective Acting Superintendent Brad Abdy has said the shooting of Matt Utai, who has since left hospital, and the property arsons appeared to be linked to Iziah’s alleged association with “criminal entities”.
“Criminals throughout history have been known to retaliate against other rival gangs. It’s not a new occurrence.
“The escalation appears to be targeting innocent members of particular families. It’s ridiculously disgusting offences they are committing.
“These people are ordinarily innocent people that are now being targeted by violent criminal syndicates, and they have no association with the criminality of the people in their particular families or their particular associates.”
Abdy has also told the Daily Telegraph that the Coconut Cartel was a “violent criminal organisation that is involved in crime for hire”.
The day after Matt Utai was critically injured, footage emerged of a home being shot at in a reported “revenge” attack.
There was also a series of suspicious vehicle fires in the early morning after the shooting.
One of those was at a property said to be Iziah Utai’s home. Audio of the incident featured a male voice saying: “F*** him and the Coconut Cartel. This is the start of the destruction.”
The shooting at a home occurred about 1am in the Sydney suburb of St Clair.
A video of the incident is said to have shown a hooded figure dressed in black firing directly at a house.
The gunman is given directions about where to fire, including, “Aim at the windows.”
The man talking in the video mentions the Utai family.
Footage of another incident in the early hours surfaced on social media, with audio played on a Sydney breakfast radio show.
Host Ben Fordham then read out a message circulating on social media around Sydney, which he said was “understood to have come from the Alameddines”.
“To the rat Ziggy Utai and his joke of a cartel, this is just the start of a losing battle for you and anyone that dares to come up against us,” the message stated.
“Stay tuned from the one and only crime family, forever strong.”
Neil Reid is a Napier-based senior reporter who covers general news, features and sport. He joined the Herald in 2014 and has 34 years of newsroom experience.
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