Updated ,first published
One day after former NRL star Matt Utai was ambushed and shot outside his western Sydney home, members of the notorious Alameddine crime family have opened fire on a second home and burnt a third – claiming “retaliation” against Utai’s son – their former ally.
Shots were fired at a home on Menzies Circuit, St Clair about 12.45am on Wednesday, causing no injuries to the sole person home at the time of the shooting. Several bullets were lodged in the roller door at the front of the property, after more than a dozen gunshots rang out.
Footage circulated through Sydney’s underworld show at least one gunman firing at the roller door and front of the property. Another man, speaking behind the camera, makes reference to the Utai family before the shooting begins. A car was found alight in nearby Colyton shortly after the St Clair shooting. No arrests have been made.
Video also emerged of a second home being firebombed in Guildford West. Fire and Rescue NSW extinguished both blazes and no injuries were reported.
Messages seen by the Herald suggest both homes were targeted for their links to Utai’s son, Iziah.
“The consequences of the brainless banana cartel actions,” one message reads.
“This is just the start its [sic] a losing battle for u and anyone that dares to come against us,” another reads.
The messages are signed “THE ONE AND ONLY CRIME FAMILY, FOREVER STRONG” and were shared with SCN Worldstar, a media platform.
It came less than 24 hours after Utai was shot in the chest and leg while departing his Greenacre family home on Tuesday morning, leaving him severely wounded on the front lawn of the property as the assailants, who are still at large, fled.
Police from the anti-gang squads believe the former Bulldogs premiership player is an innocent casualty in an escalating gang war and have launched a dedicated operation – Strike Force Halesowen – to investigate his shooting and others they believe are linked to an ongoing conflict between the Alameddine organised crime network and a rival criminal group that has dubbed itself the “Coconut Cartel”.
The conflict between the two groups has been escalating since the splintering of the Alameddine network after several senior members defected from the group to form their own rival crime syndicate. The defections sparked a gangland war and a series of retaliatory shootings in which several people were injured or killed.
Iziah, was described in court documents in 2023 as an Alameddine associate after being charged with gun and drug offences. However, videos and images circulated within Sydney’s underworld on Wednesday suggest Iziah has aligned himself with the Alameddine network’s new rivals.
The Coconut Cartel has filmed itself firing high-powered weapons and lighting homes on fire in suburban Sydney, and used SCN to promote its escalating war with the Alameddine network.
SCN Worldstar’s Zaky Mallah told the Herald he was impartial and treated “all crime news equally”.
“Sydney underworld gangs send shooting videos to SCN WorldStar because it’s known for gang news in the area,” he said.
“Shootings, firebombings, kidnappings, turf wars and other crimes are usually posted there first.”
A Merrylands barbershop registered to Iziah was torched twice in two nights in May, after he registered the business in his own name in August 2024. CCTV captured an unknown male setting himself on fire as he tried to light accelerant.
The investigation into the barbershop arson attacks was taken up by Taskforce Falcon, which was last year established to quell the violence linked to the Alameddine conflict. Police have not publicly linked that conflict to the current feud between the Alameddine network and the Coconut Cartel.
In December, several shots were also fired at a Guildford West home linked to Iziah. Two women and a child were inside at the time, but were uninjured.
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Daniel Lo Surdo is a breaking news reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. He previously helmed the national news live blog for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email.
