Matthew Doyle, Jared Hart, Raoul Kesby sentenced for cocaine supply
Three eastern suburbs party boys had their world at their feet before they got involved in a doomed plot to import cocaine worth more than $80 million. Matthew Doyle, Jared Hart and Raoul Kesby have now learned their fates in the district court.
St George Shire Standard
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Three eastern suburbs party boys will spend years behind bars after an elaborate police sting caught them in an international plot to bring more than $80 million of cocaine into Australia.
Matthew Doyle, Jared Hart and Raoul Kesby were staring down the barrel of life behind bars when they faced Downing Centre District Court for sentencing charged over their respective roles in a bumbling attempt to supply 50kg of cocaine worth $85 million.
Young father and Burraneer property developer Doyle, 31, will spend at least five years in jail after he pleaded guilty to supplying cocaine and dealing with more than $500,000 in crime proceeds.
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.
All three learned their fate exactly a year to the day they were arrested outside a Marrickville warehouse following the elaborate police investigation.
Prison greens and the prospect of years behind bars is a world away from the glamorous party lifestyle all three led alongside the eastern suburbs’ elite before their arrests.
Doyle and his wife Kelsea, a socialite and publicist, enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle and growing property portfolio including an exclusive residential apartment block in Cronulla.
Kelsea is not accused of having any involvement in her husband’s doomed drug plot.
Mrs Doyle was seen dressed in all black – complete with matching face mask – when she attended court to support her husband as he learnt his fate.
The couple’s assets were frozen in the Supreme Court last year following an application by the NSW Crime Commission.
Their collective portfolio includes shares in 16 companies, flash cars and residential developments.
Court documents detailed how Doyle made a payment of $220,000 to undercover cops who infiltrated the group during the investigation.
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.”
Doyle will be 36 years old when he is eligible for parole.