Firearms deal ‘gone wrong’ led to grandmother’s murder, court told

By Logan Church, 1News Reporter, and is republished with permission.

A court has heard how a botched firearms deal escalated so badly that an Auckland grandmother was shot dead in her lounge.

Falala Iongi, Viliami Mounga He Ofa Iongi, and Manu Hori Iongi are accused of murdering Meliame Fisi’ihoi on January 15, 2021.

Their trial began at the High Court in Auckland on Tuesday.

In her opening statement, Crown prosecutor Sacha Norrie told the jury Fisi’ihoi was in the lounge of her Favona home when she heard a “disturbance”.

“She went to the lounge window,” she said.

“As Meliame Fisi’ihoi faced out into the dark, one of those men shot her with a shotgun at close range, and she died.”

Her body was found with a single bullet wound by police after neighbours called 111 when they heard a gunshot.

“Perhaps even more tragically, she wasn’t even the killer’s target that night – she was murdered with a bullet that was intended for her son.”

She said it was because her son, Stephen Fisi’ihoi, had a falling out with two of the defendants – Falala and Viliami – after a deal trading a gun for methamphetamine went wrong.

The Crown said that “escalated” to a shooting on December 4, 2019 – just weeks before the alleged murder.

Falala and Viliami face charges of wounding with intent to injure and reckless discharge of a firearm relating to that incident.

“What started as a firearms deal gone wrong escalated to a shooting, and then ultimately to murder,” she said.

“The two shootings in December and January were not some random unconnected series of events.”

Only one defence lawyer, Simon Lance – who represented Manu Iongi – chose to give an opening argument on Tuesday, in which he urged the jury to be cautious and “filter” through the evidence.

“You can’t just throw a blanket over those three people and treat it as a job lot,” he said.

While the accused can be named by the media, non-publication orders are in place for photos and video that identify them for now.

The court is expected to hear from 80 witnesses over the five-week trial.