Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The Samoa Observer is reporting that Samoa Police have said they are not aware that the wanted Sydney alleged murder suspect, Anthony Pele, is currently in Samoa, despite information received by the Observer suggesting he is in the country.

Pele, a Sydney underworld figure, is wanted in Australia on a murder warrant linked to a July 2023 shooting in Sydney’s west that killed innocent bystander Ahmed Al-Azzam.

He is also reported to have taken over the Coconut Cartel after the killing of Lorenzo Lemalu in Vietnam. 

Acting Police Commissioner Leiataua Samuelu Afamasaga was asked by the Samoa Observer whether police were aware of information that Pele may be in Samoa.

In an emailed response to the Samoa Observer, the Acting Commissioner wrote: “Maybe means I don't know too hahaha. When (he) gets here, then I will notify you.”

The fugitive Sydney underworld figure has been publicly taunting his gangland rivals from abroad on social media since late 2025, despite being wanted on a murder warrant.

A series of social media posts seen by the ABC show Pele seemingly bragging about life on the run in Samoa, Albania, Vietnam and Mexico.

Pele is believed to have fled Australia after the July 2023 shooting.

Police have alleged Pele is the gunman who shot Ahmed Al-Azzam in a dark Greenacre street after mistaking him for a member of the Comanchero bikie gang.

He has also recently emerged as a person of interest to investigators as part of their inquiries into the self-proclaimed "Coconut Cartel", which takes its name from a historic slur against Pasifika people.

The group has been behind a series of tit-for-tat shootings against the Alameddine crime family and others over the past year.

Pele was also revealed by the ABC to be the alleged mastermind behind a failed $1 billion drug deal.

It was one of the biggest drug hauls ever uncovered by NSW Police, but if it was not for a nosy neighbor, $1 billion worth of cocaine could have flooded Sydney's streets.

The packaged drugs found in the Blaxland Road, Ryde apartment in 2023. [courtesy photo]

The story of how police seized more than 700 kilograms of cocaine in a suburban apartment last year has been unearthed in court documents obtained by the ABC.

Documents showed an alleged crew of aspiring drug thieves spent weeks planning a heist on a safe house, only to be undone before they even got into the unit.  

The details came to light after material outlining the case was tendered to the Supreme Court earlier this year.

In texts obtained by detectives from an encrypted group chat, those planning the heist allegedly discovered there were "500 bricks" inside the apartment.

Over the following weeks, police allege the men organized to buy smaller amounts of the drug, watching from a distance as the 'dead drop' took place.

Police have charged the group's alleged ringleader, Brandon Maseuli, with organizing to kidnap the seller and complete the heist.

A forensic search of devices seized by police connected to the case revealed the group were allegedly being instructed by wanted accused underworld assassin Pele.

Pele is wanted by NSW Police for the murder of Ahmed Al-Azzam, who was killed accidentally in July 2023 after being mistaken as a gangland rival.

Police believe he fled the country shortly after and remains overseas.