Pakūranga shooting: Man charged with murder of Tuipulotu Vi allegedly flew from the United States for the shooting

Saia Kokohu Vi, named by police as Tuipulotu Vi, was shot dead inside his courier van outside his home in Pakūranga Heights in August 2024. The police investigation has led to three men being charged with murder. Photo / NZME

A loving grandfather shot dead outside his home in Auckland was allegedly murdered by a “hitman” flown in from the United States to carry out the killing, according to police.

The alleged shooter, 26, left New Zealand before he could be identified but is now in custody in California after being charged with a similar shooting in the US.

Tuipulotu Kokohu Vi, also known as Saia, was killed when the courier van he was driving was struck by gunfire outside his home in Pakūranga Heights about 6.45am on August 19, 2024.

Friends and neighbours expressed disbelief that anyone would want to harm the 59-year-old, who was known as a church-going family man.

Detectives in Counties Manukau have spent the past 18 months piecing together the links between the violent death of Vi and an organised criminal group based in the United States.

Vi had no involvement in the criminal underworld.

The new details about his death can be reported for the first time after wide-ranging suppression orders to protect the murder investigation lapsed today. Some details remain suppressed.

In September last year, the homicide investigation, Operation Block, announced a breakthrough when a 23-year-old man from Ōtara was charged as a party to murder.

“I want to acknowledge the significant period of time that has passed since this tragic incident, and our thoughts remain with Mr Vi’s family,” Detective Inspector Shaun Vickers said at the time.

“The public will appreciate there are specifics in the investigation we are unable to discuss, however, we are following positive lines of inquiry to bring this case to a close.”

But the Herald can now report another suspect in the Pakūranga Heights shooting had already been charged with murder.

In October 2024, a few months after Vi was killed, court documents show Tanginoa Pahulu Tangi, a 26-year-old listed as living in California, was charged with murder.

He is alleged to have fired the gun that fatally wounded Vi.

All details of the prosecution were suppressed to protect the ongoing Operation Block inquiry, including the potential arrest of Tangi in the United States to be extradited to stand trial in New Zealand.

Tuipulotu Kokohu Vi, also known as Saia, was a loving family man with no involvement with organised crime. Photo / Supplied

Then in August 2025, Tangi was arrested in California after a shooting described by local police as a “targeted attack”.

The victim had just returned home and was getting out of the car when he was shot several times.

Neighbours alerted the police to the suspect’s getaway vehicle, a Ford 150 ute, which was eventually stopped by road spikes.

Tangi was arrested and charged with a number of serious crimes, including attempted murder, according to local media reports.

He is now in custody in California, although it is unclear whether Tangi would stand trial in the United States or New Zealand first.

Suppression orders covering his alleged involvement in the murder of Vi have been lifted after a hearing in the Manukau District Court today.

After the arrest of their main target in the United States, Operation Block raided the second suspect’s home in Auckland in September last year.

The 23-year-old was jointly charged with the murder of Vi and granted name suppression at his first appearance in the Manukau District Court.

Last week, a third man was charged with murder.

The identity of the 35-year-old has also been suppressed.

“We cannot rule out further arrests being made in this investigation,” Vickers said.

There is no suggestion Vi was involved in any drug dealing or organised crime of any kind.

But his son is facing charges of money laundering and drug importing.

The 35-year-old was on bail at a North Shore address targeted in a similar shooting about a month before his father was killed.

He was living at a property on Rambler Cres that was sprayed with bullets in a drive-by shooting in the suburb of Beach Haven about 6.30am on July 23, 2024.

The son was supposed to stand trial last year but absconded. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

His sister and her partner were also charged with drug importing and money laundering offences as alleged co-offenders in an investigation codenamed Operation Worthington.

The couple were living with Vi, according to court documents and electoral roll records.

At the time of the fatal shooting, Vickers confirmed the “familial link” between the two addresses that were targeted.

“We are working hard to understand the motivation behind both shootings,” Vickers said.

“Mr Vi died in a shocking display of violence, and we understand the community is feeling uneasy.

“At this point, we want to assure the community that [we] are doing everything we can to piece together exactly what has happened and who was involved.”

Jared Savage covers crime and justice issues, with a particular interest in organised crime. He joined the Herald in 2006 and has won a dozen journalism awards in that time, including twice being named Reporter of the Year. He is also the author of Gangland, Gangster’s Paradise and Underworld.

Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand.