An Australian underworld fugitive survived an attempt on his life in Marbella last week, it has been claimed.
Iziah Utai, an alleged senior figure in Sydney’s so-called Coconut Cartel, is understood to have been targeted during a botched home invasion last week.
Sources told Australia’s national broadcaster ABC that armed hitmen attempted to enter the Marbella property but failed to reach their intended target.
There has not yet been any publicly reported confirmation from Spanish police, while the precise location and circumstances of the incident remain unclear.
Utai appeared to reference the alleged attack in a social-media post on Tuesday.
‘Better luck next time,’ he wrote. ‘Oh wait, there won’t be.’
The 24-year-old is wanted by New South Wales Police over alleged criminal-group offences connected to the fatal shooting of Australian underworld figure Dawood Zakaria in May 2025.
Zakaria was shot in the head while travelling in a vehicle in Sydney and died in hospital two days later. Another man was wounded but survived.
Utai left Australia shortly afterwards and has since posted images apparently taken in Albania, Lebanon, Asia and the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca.
Sydney gang war reaches Marbella
Australian police regard Utai as a senior member of the Coconut Cartel, an alleged criminal network engaged in a violent feud with Sydney’s Alameddine crime family.
The gang’s name is derived from a historic slur directed at Pacific Islander communities.
Police have linked the escalating conflict to shootings, firebombings, assaults and kidnappings.
Several innocent people have also been killed after inexperienced gunmen allegedly attacked the wrong targets.
Australian investigators have warned that organised criminals are increasingly recruiting teenagers through encrypted messaging platforms to carry out shootings for relatively small payments.
Utai has repeatedly used social media to taunt his rivals and Australian authorities while remaining abroad.
His father, former professional rugby league player Matt Utai, was shot outside his home in Sydney in February.
The former Canterbury Bulldogs winger is not accused of any involvement in organised crime.
Days later, Iziah Utai’s former home was set on fire, while another property connected to his family was sprayed with bullets.
Another alleged leader of the Coconut Cartel, Lorenzo Lemalu, was shot dead on a street in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in May.
The reported attempt on Utai’s life brings the Australian gang conflict to Marbella, which has long been used as a meeting place and refuge by international organised-crime figures.
Neither New South Wales Police nor the Australian Federal Police had confirmed the reported Marbella attack when contacted by ABC.
The Spanish Eye has contacted the Policia Nacional for comment.
