Brisbane, Australia —
Stepping out of a restaurant onto the bustling streets of Ho Chi Minh City, as diners sit at street tables, the shooter pulls out a gun and fires on his targets from behind.
The alleged hit kills a senior member of a feared Australian drug cartel and injures another, yet more carnage in a gang war for control of the world’s most lucrative cocaine market.
Video of the shooting in Vietnam shows 24-year-old Lorenzo Lemalu, an operative with the Coconut Cartel, staggering on the footpath before he’s dragged into the restaurant, where attempts are made to save his life. His alleged associate lies seriously injured beside him on the blood-smeared tiles.
Within 72 hours of the May 21 shooting, Vietnamese authorities announce two Samoan men have been detained near the border with Cambodia, parading them on state television to deliver purported confessions. The men, both in their 20s, said the attack was directed by a person overseas, according to state media. CNN has attempted to contact their lawyers.
