Matthew James Doyle to appeal drug supply jail sentence

A once up-and-coming property developer and Sydney socialite jailed over a plot to import 50kg of cocaine is set to return to court next month.

A rising property developer and young father jailed after a police sting caught him in a bumbling attempt to bring cocaine worth more than $80 million into Australia is set to appeal his jail sentence in the NSW Supreme Court.

Matthew James Doyle, 32, was sentenced to at least five years behind bars in September 2020 after he pleaded guilty to supplying cocaine and dealing with more than $500,000 in crime proceeds.

The Burraneer property developer and his co-accused – eastern suburbs party boys Jared Hart and Raoul Kesby – were ensnared in an elaborate police sting which blew up their plans to supply up to 300kg of cocaine worth a whopping $85 million.

Matthew Doyle.

A court heard Doyle cooked up the haphazard plot to import the drugs on a trip to Las Vegas – but undercover cops who infiltrated the group ensured it never occurred.

Doyle ultimately paid an undercover officer $220,000 towards the supply – but the drugs never existed, and the trio were arrested outside a Marrickville warehouse with 50kg of inert powder stamped with a Hollywood star shape.

At their District Court sentence, Judge Penelope Hock said Doyle was “motivated by greed”.

“It is disturbing to see these three young men with so many positive qualities, and such supportive families, engaging in such criminal behaviour,” she said.

Doyle was sentenced to eight years in jail with a five-year non-parole term – but he is now set to appeal the sentence in the Court of Criminal Appeal.

The matter is listed for callover in the CCA on October 28 and the appeal is to be heard on March 16 next year.

By then, Doyle will have spent more than two and a half years behind bars – having gone into prison the day he was arrested.

Matthew Doyle and wife Kelsea.

It is a world away from the glamorous lifestyle he shared with his wife Kelsea and the eastern suburbs’ elite before the trio were arrested.

Doyle and his wife had a growing property portfolio which included their own luxury duplex in Burraneer and an exclusive residential apartment block in Cronulla.

Mrs Doyle – who is not accused of any involvement in her husband’s doomed drug plot – is now raising the pair’s family alone while her husband does his time.

Their assets – which were then frozen by the NSW Crime Commission during the investigation – also included shares in 16 companies and flash cars.

Doyle.

Hart will spend at least three years and two months behind bars after a court heard he was trying to pay off a $60,000 tax debt, while Kesby was jailed for at least two years and 10 months for helping Hart pick up what he thought was drugs.

At an earlier court date Doyle’s barrister Phillip Boulton QC told the court Doyle was motivated by money when he made the catastrophic choice to involve himself with drugs.

“So long as he stays away from illicit drugs and those involved in the trade he is entirely unlikely to be involved in any criminal offences of any type again,” Mr Boulton said.

“I’d ask your honour to find that he has good prospects of rehabilitation.”

Based on his current sentence, Doyle will be 36 years old when he is eligible for parole.