The police allege Tanginoa Pahulu Tangi flew from the United States to carry out the shooting and left New Zealand before he could be identified.
The 26-year-old was charged with Vi’s murder in October 2024.
All details of the prosecution were suppressed to protect the ongoing Operation Block inquiry, including the potential arrest of Tangi in the United States to be extradited to stand trial in New Zealand.
Then in August 2025, Tangi was arrested in California after a shooting described by local police as a “targeted attack” and charged with attempted murder.
It is most likely that Tangi would only stand trial in New Zealand for Vi’s murder after his legal proceedings, including any potential prison sentence, in the United States were complete.
Two other men from Auckland have also been charged with murder in connection with the fatal shooting.
Tuipulotu Kokohu Vi, also known as Saia, was a loving family man with no involvement with organised crime. Photo / Supplied
After the arrest of Tangi in the United States, Operation Block raided the second suspect’s home in Auckland in September last year.
The 23-year-old was jointly charged with Vi’s murder and granted name suppression at his first appearance in the Manukau District Court.
Last week, a third man was charged with murder and was also granted interim name suppression.
Defence lawyer Scott McColgan represents the two Auckland men charged with Vi’s murder.
He confirmed both his clients had pleaded not guilty to the charges.
But after other suppression orders were lifted last week, it can be revealed the 35-year-old was already facing serious criminal charges in a separate, but intertwined, police investigation into a drug smuggling syndicate with links to the United States.
In June 2024, detectives from the National Organised Crime Group raided an Airbnb rental property in Māngere Bridge and discovered four Glock pistols and a submachine gun inside a suitcase.
Operation Mexted led to three US citizens being arrested for possession of the illegal firearms and subsequently charged with importing methamphetamine.
A submachine gun seized in Operation Mexted, a police investigation into a transnational organised criminal cell. Photo / NZ Police
Two of the Glock pistols seized in Operation Mexted. Photo / NZ Police
Two months later, police arrested four men in Auckland on charges of importing meth.
Detectives also found more than $800,000 cash in a Takapuna apartment.
Then, police laid a separate charge of participating in an organised criminal group against one of the US nationals previously charged over the Glock firearms and the two Auckland men now charged with the murder of Vi.
The details of the charge allege the men worked together for the purpose of the “commission of serious violent offences namely murder, attempted murder and discharging a firearm with intent”.
According to court documents, Operation Mexted alleges the men were part of an international group importing and dealing drugs and the trafficking of firearms.
The syndicate allegedly used different methods to smuggle illicit goods through the border, including “corrupted agents” at international airports in the United States and New Zealand, as well as New Zealand Post.
“The financial gains from the group’s activities were subsequently laundered by its members including through various construction and other companies in an attempt to conceal their source,” the police alleged in court documents released to the Herald.
Police seized more than $800,000 from an apartment in Takapuna, Auckland, during Operaton Mexted. Photo / NZ Police
The 35-year-old Auckland man accused of Vi’s murder was one of the senior New Zealand-based members of the group, according to police, who reported directly to a higher-ranking member in the United States.
He has also been charged with conspiracy to import Class-A drugs.
At the time of his initial arrest he controlled a cryptocurrency account holding nearly $670,000, which the police alleged were the profits of criminal activity.
During the nine months leading up to his arrest, about $1.3 million was transferred through the cryptocurrency wallet.
After his arrest, the police allege $4.9m flowed through a cryptocurrency account controlled by his partner during 2025.
The woman was described by police as her partner’s “lieutenant” and has also been charged with participating in an organised criminal group.
At one point during Operation Mexted the couple moved into a high-end hotel in downtown Auckland despite the 35-year-old being subject to electronic monitoring on bail.
The police allege his partner spent $164,000 on the hotel and others between 2023 and 2025.
According to the police, the murder of Vi happened after a series of shootings in the south Auckland region, allegedly arranged by the syndicate.
There is no suggestion the 59-year-old Vi was involved in any drug dealing or organised crime of any kind.
But his son is facing serious charges of money laundering and drug importing.
The 35-year-old was on bail at a North Shore address targeted in a similar shooting about a month before his father was killed.
He was living at a property on Rambler Cres that was sprayed with bullets in a drive-by shooting in the suburb of Beach Haven around 6.30am on July 23, 2024.
The son was supposed to stand trial last year but absconded. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.
His sister and her partner were also charged with drug importing and money laundering offences as co-offenders in the investigation codenamed Operation Worthington.
The couple were living with Vi in Pakūranga Heights, according to court documents and electoral roll records.
At the time of the fatal shooting, Detective Inspector Shaun Vickers confirmed the “familial link” between both addresses that were targeted.
“We are working hard to understand the motivation behind both shootings,” Vickers said.
“Mr Vi died in a shocking display of violence, and we understand the community is feeling uneasy.
“At this point, we want to assure the community that [we] are doing everything we can to piece together exactly what has happened and who was involved.”
Vickers has not ruled out more arrests being made.
Jared Savage covers crime and justice issues, with a particular interest in organised crime. He joined the Herald in 2006 and has won a dozen journalism awards in that time, including twice being named Reporter of the Year. He is also the author of Gangland, Gangster’s Paradise and Underworld.