Sydney gangland figure survives overseas assassination attempt

Self-proclaimed 'Coconut Cartel' boss Iziah Utai survives attack on his life in Spain, sources sayPosted Wed 23 Sep 2026 at 4:01pmWed 23 Sep 2026 at 4:01pmIziah Utai pictured in a social media image. (Supplied.)In short:A Sydney underworld figure on the run overseas has reportedly survived an attempt on his life.The ABC has been told that "Coconut Cartel" boss Iziah Utai was targeted at a property in Marbella, Spain, this week.Sources said law enforcement are investigating reports that the attack appeared to be a botched home invasion by armed hit men.Underworld fugitive Iziah Utai has survived an attack on his life overseas, sources have told the ABC.Mr Utai, a senior member of the self-proclaimed "Coconut Cartel", is understood to have been the target of a botched home invasion at a property in Marbella, Spain.The "Coconut Cartel", whose name comes from a historic slur against Pasifika people, have been at war with Sydney's Alameddine crime family over the past year.Police have linked several fatal shootings, firebombings, assaults and kidnappings to the ongoing feud between the two organised crime networks.The most recent death police have linked to the warring crime clans was the tragic mistaken identity murder of Joshua MacDonald at Merrylands West three weeks ago.In one of many images from overseas, Iziah Utai posted this from Mecca this year. (Supplied.)As the violence plays out on the city's streets, Mr Utai and other "Cartel" associates have remained overseas.Images publicly linked to Mr Utai over recent months have appeared to show him in Albania, Lebanon and Asia.Sources told the ABC armed hit men this week attempted to break into where Mr Utai was staying in the popular European tourist destination of Marbella.Mr Utai himself appeared to reference the incident on social media on Tuesday, posting the caption: "Better luck next time. O wait there won't be."The NSW Police and the Australian Federal Police were contacted for comment.The attempt on Mr Utai's life comes after the "Cartel" leader Lorenzo Lemalu was brazenly gunned down in May on a street in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.Another picture from Europe Iziah Utai posted while on the run. (Supplied)Tit-for-tat violenceSince fleeing Australia, Mr Utai has publicly gloated about incidents linked to the tit-for-tat violence emerging from the dispute between the "Cartel" and the Alameddines.He is wanted by NSW Police for his alleged involvement in an underworld murder in May 2025.Mr Utai has also been the subject of attention from his underworld adversaries over the past 12 months.In February, his father, NRL premiership winner Matt Utai, was shot outside a property in Greenacre.The former Bulldogs winger is not accused of having any involvement in organised crime.Days after that shooting, Iziah Utai's Guildford West home was torched, and another home connected to his family was sprayed with bullets.The same property was also shot at in December last year, and last May a barber shop owned by Mr Utai was firebombed by teenage arsonists two nights in a row.