Updated July 21, 2026 – 5:51 p.m.,first published 4:51 p.m. Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. TOTOTO The estranged son of gangland lawyer Victor Doree faces possible time behind bars after a police raid on his Brighton East home allegedly uncovered bricks
Updated ,first published
The estranged son of gangland lawyer Victor Doree faces possible time behind bars after a police raid on his Brighton East home allegedly uncovered bricks of cocaine with an estimated total street value of $100,000.
A month-long investigation into the alleged circulation of illicit drugs in the elite bayside suburb led detectives to the North Road home on Monday morning.
Jesse Doree, 28, appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday after being arrested on charges of cocaine trafficking, drug possession and possession of the proceeds of crime.
Doree, who briefly attended the private De La Salle school in Malvern, was supported in court by her partner, siblings and mother Fiona.
Constable Jack Wills told the court that during the raid police seized two mobile phones, $45,000 in cash, various drugs including ketamine, as well as bricks of cocaine.
“We believe one phone is used as a clean phone and the second phone is used to traffic drugs,” Wills said.
The drugs were hidden in the kitchen hood, the bedroom nightstand and the pantry, according to the police summary.
A wad of cash was also discovered hidden behind the home’s Venetian blinds, as well as $1,560 in the cutlery drawer, $450 in the sock drawer, $560 in a Mercedes-Benz and $600 in the bedroom drawer, according to the summary.
A text message sent from a phone allegedly contained a list of names along with money owed, with individual debts recorded at $35,000, $42,000 and up to $50,000, the court heard.
“So [there] “It was an address submitted with a Google Maps screenshot of a photo of a house, and he’s asking someone to go collect that debt for him,” Wills said.
Doree allegedly told arresting officers that he does not use cocaine and that he prescribes sedatives because he “doesn’t trust doctors.”
The court heard the 28-year-old claimed he was unemployed, apart from a business he is starting focused on “finding solicitors online” and cash-based roofing jobs.
Wills told the court he believed Doree would continue dealing drugs if granted bail. “He has developed a lifestyle based on selling drugs and would find it extremely difficult to give up,” he said.
“We have confiscated a large amount of cash from your house, so you will have to try to recover it somehow.”
Wills told the court there was a risk of an “external party” pursuing the alleged debts which “could result in violence”.
Doree’s estranged father Victor has had long-standing business links to the underworld, including with Finks motorcycle club president Mark Basille and underworld figure Mick Gatto.
Victor made headlines in May when his Spotswood warehouse, which housed three law firms including his own, was burned down under suspicious circumstances.
Doree’s mother Fiona told the court her son had not seen his father for more than a decade. “Jesse’s father left [us] in 2012. He had an extramarital affair with one of the women in the office, which was shoved in our faces for a long time.”
She told the court that her son struggles “tremendously” with post-traumatic stress, after witnessing and being subjected to emotional abuse and physical violence at the hands of his father.
“He’s a really good kid. He’s got a really good heart,” Fiona said. “His dad leaving was probably the start of him lashing out and… just making really dumb decisions.”
The court heard Doree had a limited criminal record, including a traffic charge that did not result in a conviction.
However, the magistrate refused bail, saying he was not satisfied that Doree did not reoffend despite clear support from her family.
Doree remained in custody until her next court date in October.
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Carla Jaeger is a journalist for The Age. Do you have advice? Email carla.jaeger@theage.com.au or message carlajaeger.62 on Signal.Connect through X either email.From our partners
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