![\"Joseph](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1780040703_801_4JNXM9C_Screenshot_2026_05_28_071918_png.jpeg\")
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\nJoseph Vaa, 27, admitted gunning down “Coconut Cartel” ringleader Lorenzo Lemalu Tovia outside a restaurant on 21 May. Vaa’s associate, Steve Tofa, 23, has confessed to being his accomplice in the shooting.
\nPhoto: Screengrab \/ 7NEWS Sydney\n<\/p>\n
Police in Apia have launched an investigation into a bizarre international case involving two Samoan men who confessed on Vietnamese television to the murder of a Sydney gang leader in Ho Chi Minh City.<\/p>\n
The Samoa Observer reported that Joseph Vaa, 27, admitted gunning down suspected “Coconut Cartel” ringleader Lorenzo Lemalu Tovia outside a restaurant on 21 May. Vaa’s associate, Steve Tofa, 23, has confessed to being his accomplice in the shooting.<\/p>\n
Tovia died at the scene while his associate Sauni Sam, 27, is in intensive care in hospital with serious injuries.<\/p>\n
Tovia is believed to be the mastermind behind a Sydney criminal organisation, colloquially known as the “Coconut Cartel”, which declared war on the rival alameddine gang earlier this year.<\/p>\n
A video posted by Vietnamese television channel VTV9 showed Vaa and Tofa wearing black hoods and handcuffs while being marched into a room by police to confess.<\/p>\n
![\"Lorenzo](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1780040703_919_4JNXIB3_ff4e22c4d4f8b36e0e489d211e5d16ae_avif.jpeg\")
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\nLorenzo Lemalu, who was shot dead in Vietnam last week. (Supplied)
\nPhoto: ABC \/ Supplied\n<\/p>\n
Australia’s 7News showed footage of the confessions, with a blank looking Vaa clearly reading out a statement.<\/p>\n
“Together with Steve, I came to Vietnam and I was the person who directly used the gun to shoot and kill someone on 21 May,” Vaa confessed.<\/p>\n
“I realise that my actions were wrong and I deeply regret what I have done. The Vietnamese police have treated me kindly and provided me with food and drinks to ensure that I remain in good health.”<\/p>\n
Tofa, also called Tafia in some news reports, who looked frightened, then admitted to being an accomplice in the crime.<\/p>\n
“Me together with Vaa, were hired to come to Vietnam to look for two victims, Lorenzo Lemalu Tovia and Sauni Sam, in order for my friend to use a gun and kill them. Although I had plans to flee Vietnam immediately after committing the crime, it was impossible to escape from the Vietnamese police and I accept responsibility for the law,” Tofa said.<\/p>\n
“I would like to advise anyone who intends to come to Vietnam to commit crimes to abandon that idea immediately because you will be arrested by the Vietnamese police.”<\/p>\n
The duo were initially thought to be Australian but 7 News reports they used fake passports and false names; Lang Kenny Trong Minh do and Justin John white, to travel to Vietnam. They were arrested at the Cambodian border less than three days after the shooting.<\/p>\n
Lieutenant General Mai Ho\u00e0ng, the director of the HCM City Police, said authorities would deal strictly with all lawbreakers operating within Vietnamese territory.<\/p>\n
“If the subjects provide sincere declarations, they will receive the leniency of Vietnamese law,” he stated.<\/p>\n
Local police said the alleged hit men used “military-grade firearms” during the attack last Wednesday night outside the Cee’f seafood restaurant on Truong Dinh Street in Ben Thanh ward. Surveillance footage showed them fleeing on foot immediately afterwards.<\/p>\n
The deputy director police, Nguyen Thanh Hung, told state media that police used surveillance measures and digital mapping to trace their movements and escape route.<\/p>\n
Investigators issued emergency detention orders against the two suspects and said at the time that they were “highly dangerous” and “prepared to resist arrest.”<\/p>\n
The Khmer Times reported that during their initial interrogation, the suspects told police that they were acting on behalf of a individual based abroad.<\/p>\n
They said they had arrived at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCM city on 14 May and spent several days monitoring the activities of the two Australian victims.<\/p>\n
Police have also detained Vietnamese citizen Nguy\u1ec5n Tr\u1ecdng Ngh\u0129a, 24, a resident of the southern province of T\u00e2y Ninh, along with seven other Vietnamese nationals, for allegedly helping the suspects evade capture and failing to report the crime.<\/p>\n
Ngh\u0129a reportedly worked as a passenger transport driver on the Ho Chi Minh City-T\u00e2y Ninh route.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Samoa’s acting police commissioner, Leiataua Samuelu Afamasaga said officers were working with Australian police to investigate Vaa and Tofa’s criminal connections..<\/p>\n
Police would need to try and determine who funded the trip to Vietnam to carry out the hit, Leiataua said.<\/p>\n
Vaa and Tofa, an aspiring bodybuilder, had reportedly been working for a telecommunications company in Samoa and were involved in the local basketball scene.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Joseph Vaa, 27, admitted gunning down “Coconut Cartel” ringleader Lorenzo Lemalu Tovia outside a restaurant on 21 May.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20740,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[22,4453,21,4452,152,4454,4451,4449,4450],"class_list":["post-20739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-audio","tag-austrlia","tag-current-affairs","tag-news","tag-podcasts","tag-public-radio","tag-radio-new-zealand","tag-rnz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20739"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20739\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}