Sydney socialite Matthew James Doyle arrested in cocaine bust
Sydney socialite Matthew James Doyle was arrested as part of an $80 million international drug sting and his wife lost $350,000 in the sale of a luxury Cronulla apartment. This is how a party boy’s glamourous life came crashing down.
NSW
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When Sydney socialite Matthew James Doyle wasn’t making deals he was plotting to smuggle a massive drugs shipment into Sydney, police claim.
The budding entrepreneur was arrested on Wednesday as part of an international drug sting involving more than 300kg of cocaine worth about $80 million.
Doyle, 31, from Burraneer in Sydney’s south, was allegedly part of a three-member syndicate busted by the NSW Police Organised Crime Squad.
He and his wife Kelsea are movers and shakers in this city’s social scene.
MORE: Wife take $350,000 hit on luxury Cronulla home
One of Doyle’s entrepreneurial ventures received press in 2016 when he and another man sunk $500,000 into a business they spruiked as being “the Uber of massage”.
Kelsea has worked for high-end fashion labels like Camilla And Marc, and Josh Goot while using social media to document the couple’s luxurious globetrotting lifestyle.
The husband and wife are frequently spotted at Bondi’s Icebergs rubbing shoulders with Sydney’s elite and it is understood Doyle recently travelled to Las Vegas for a high-end gambling tournament.
But that all came crashing down following his arrest.
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He is now facing three charges, including supplying a commercial quantity of cocaine and two counts of knowingly dealing with cash that was the proceeds of crime.
According to documents tendered in court, Doyle supplied 300kg of cocaine in Sydney between April 23 and September 4.
Police also allege he dealt with $220,000 in criminally obtained cash between July 26 and 31 at Hammondville and then another $300,000 on September 4 at Cronulla.
On top of the police charges, Mrs Doyle offloaded her luxury Cronulla apartment in a block built by her husband at a massive $350,000 loss.
The former PR supremo for ritzy fashion designers Camilla and Marc, sold her apartment with stunning ocean views in the boutique Tara Maree block last month for $1,900,000 after 278 days on the market.
Property documents obtained by The Daily Telegraph show she bought the top-end three-bedroom apartment off the plan for $2,250,000 in April 2017.
The development was built by Cronulla 88 Developments of which Matthew Doyle was a co-director until January this year. It has since gone into voluntary administration.
Two other men, Jared Ramond Hart, 30, of Bronte, and Raoul Kesby, 28, from Woolloomooloo, were charged along with Doyle as part of the drugs operation.
Hart is charged with knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime in relation to $219,500 in Hammondville on July 26 and supplying 50kg of cocaine at Kingsgrove on September 4.
Police also claim Hart had two police identification badges at his Bronte home and have charged him with two counts of possessing unlawfully obtained goods.
Kesby is charged with supplying a large commercial quantity of illegal drugs.
All three men are yet to enter a plea. They will next appear in Central Local Court later this month.
Originally published as Sydney socialite Matthew James Doyle arrested in cocaine bust