NRL star Matt Utai ran at his attackers when gunmen opened fire on him during an early morning drive-by shooting in south-west Sydney.
Utai, a former Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs winger, was shot twice outside his home on Macquarie Street in Greenacre, just before 6am on Tuesday, and was taken to hospital for surgery.
Utai is believed to be an innocent casualty in what cops have labelled a ‘targeted’ shooting.
The connection between his son, Iziah Tafeamalii Utai, 24, and the Alameddine crime family is now being investigated as police work to find those responsible.
The Daily Mail has seen CCTV footage showing Utai running towards the gunman who had shot him.
Utai had walked out of his duplex moments before the shooting erupted. The 44-year-old unlocked his Toyota Hilux and opened the driver’s door as the rear door of a white SUV parked on the other side of the street opened.
When a gunman in the SUV got out and started shooting, Utai ran towards him.
Footy star Matt Utai was shot in the leg and shoulder during an alleged drive-by attack on Tuesday
Police are now investigating Matt’s son Iziah’s links to the notorious Alameddine crime family
The gunman got back into the vehicle and appeared to be joined by a second attacker, who came from the other side of the SUV and got in the same rear door.
The SUV took off as Utai walked down the street, away from his house. He then returned and collapsed on his front lawn.
The drive-by shooting unfolded eight months after Iziah’s Merrylands barber shop was firebombed twice by a teenager known to be an associate of the Alameddines.
Iziah, who has served time in prison and been found guilty of firearms, drugs and robbery charges, came to the attention of authorities in 2019.
He was convicted the following year of armed robbery and sentenced to an 18-month Community Corrections Order (CCO) which expired in February 2022.
In 2021, he pleaded guilty to a charge of possess prohibited drug and received a 12-month CCO expiring in December 2022.
He was found guilty in 2021 on a charge of driving with an illicit drug in his blood, and received a two-year Conditional Release Order (CRO) to expire in May 2023, but recorded no conviction.
He breached his CRO in 2023 when he was charged with six offences, later pleading guilty to charges related to firearms and drug possession.
The NRL star was shot while leaving his family home in Greenacre in Sydney’s south-west
Police could be seen tagging evidence outside Utai’s home as the investigation continues
Speculation has continued to mount that the attack could have been carried out by the ‘Coconut Cartel’
Detectives were outside Utai’s home on Tuesday morning as they work to find those responsible for the attack
In 2023, Iziah was sentenced to 18 months jail with a non-parole period of nine months meaning he was eligible for parole in October 2023.
It’s not clear whether Iziah was at the family home at the time of the shooting.
His father has no criminal history and is not believed to be involved in criminal activity, according to Bankstown Police Area Command Superintendent Rodney Hart.
Speculation has continued to mount that the attack could have been carried out by the ‘Coconut Cartel’, a new underworld group allegedly connected to a recent firebombing of a home belonging to the Alameddines.
The Coconut Cartel were once hired by the Alameddines, but the two camps had a falling out.
The breakaway gang is believed to be made up of former Kaiviti Family members – an Islander and Fijian gang.
Following the shooting, police were called to Samuel Street in Wiley Park, where officers found an SUV on fire.
The fire was extinguished by Fire and Rescue NSW, and the car was seized for forensic examination.
The Coconut Cartel were once hired by the Alameddines, but the two camps had a falling out
Emergency services were called to Macquarie Street in Greenacre just before 6am on Tuesday
Police have established crime scenes at both locations, with Bankstown detectives commencing an investigation and treating both incidents as linked.
The shooting will be investigated by the Raptor squad, which targets bikie gangs and organised crime networks.
‘Whether the victim was the intended target or it was somebody that he knows or associates with, or he’s related to, will form part of the investigation,’ Supt Hart said.
Police are searching for two offenders: a driver and a gunman.
It comes as a neighbour, who requested not to be named, told Daily Mail she heard five shots.
‘I was asleep in the lounge room and my mum was making breakfast for my dad,’ she said.
‘All we heard is gunshots. I heard five shots. Then he started yelling. He was screaming. I don’t know what he was saying, he was probably in shock.
‘We went down and we saw him. He was on the grass near a black car. He couldn’t move.’
Police were later called to Samuel Street in Wiley Park where officers found an SUV on fire
The neighbour said she saw Utai being taken away in an ambulance.
‘He was aware,’ she said. ‘He was just in a lot of pain.’
The neighbour said she did not see the vehicle from which the shots were fired but heard it speeding away.
‘This street is always quiet,’ she said. ‘It’s really safe. It was so scary.’
