Koray Kuroz: Sydney motivational speaker on trial for alleged MDMA supply

A hot-shot personal development coach allegedly discussed coded drug deals in thousands of calls intercepted by police, a court has heard.

Motivational speaker Koray Kuroz is accused of supplying drugs. Picture: David Swift

A charismatic motivational speaker from Sydney’s north shore who claims to be on a “mission to spread happiness and love” was an alleged linchpin in a drug ring supplying MDMA across the city, a court has heard.

Koray Kuroz, of Turramurra, is accused of supplying 560g of the party drug to a raft of his alleged dealers and conspiring to obtain 1kg of MDMA over the course of three months in 2016.

Mr Kuroz has pleaded not guilty to charges including conspiring to commit an offence, two counts of commercial drug supply and ongoing drug supply.

Previous charges of knowingly directing and participating in a criminal group and large commercial drug supply have been withdrawn.

Koray Kuroz runs his own personal development company.

His District Court trial heard on Tuesday that police listened in to more than 2000 phone calls made to and from his phone between June and October 2016. The calls allegedly revealed Mr Kuroz discussing drug deals using coded words like “full ones”, “local” and “dutch”.

One of the men the Crown alleges Mr Kuroz conspired with, Hossein Dehghani, was sentenced to 12 years and six months in jail in December 2018 for drug offences.

Mr Kuroz’s LinkedIn account describes him as a “high performance sales leader, strategist, coach, teacher and speaker” at his own “global” personal development company.

The Knox Grammar graduate, 23, appeared in court on Tuesday dressed impeccably in a dark blue suit with his hair gelled back.

Mr Kuroz leaves the Downing Centre on Tuesday. Picture: David Swift

It was in stark contrast to the shaven-headed, singlet-wearing Mr Kuroz, then 20, shown in his police interview at Manly police station on November 13, 2016, after his arrest by strike force detectives outside his girlfriend’s house in Seaforth.

In the video played to the court, Mr Kuroz repeatedly replied “no comment” to questions put to him about the alleged supply of MDMA in suburbs including Glendenning, Five Dock and Campbelltown.

He declines to speak on allegations he knew Dehghani and sold 1kg of MDMA for about $40,000 to him in June 2016.

During a break in the interview, health-conscious Koraz asks Detective Senior Constable Nathan Gabriel – the officer in charge of the investigation – if he knew when lunch was served.

“Do you know what it is?” he asks. “Please don’t say Macca’s.”

He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

In the interview, Mr Kuroz tells police he worked several casual jobs, including as a waiter, and earned “enough to pay the bills”.

It came after officers alleged he organised to sell 10 ounces of MDMA to a man at the Outback Steakhouse in Glendenning for $15,000 in June 2016.

The court heard recordings of phone intercepts of calls made to Mr Kuroz’s number in which he allegedly spoke about upcoming drug deals.

“If you want good local, I can get that pretty cheap,” he says in one call.

In another he asks a man if he wants “local or dutch”, adding the former was “not going to be as good as the premium stuff”. Mr Kuroz says he can get a “full local” for about “30”.

Many of the calls relate to partying and discussion of the side effects of anabolic steroid Anadrol, which Mr Kuroz states he was using at the time.

The trial continues.