Among his co-accused were Les Mason, the older brother of former Newcastle Knight Willie Mason, and Matthew Shane Pearce, a former personal trainer with links to the Knights.

It’s a case that highlights the often slippery slope from steroids to other illicit substances, just as the debate about the social acceptability of party drugs is at a fever pitch.

Meanwhile, the nation’s top football codes are debating how to combat the threat of drug use and doping, and the impact they are having on their sports.

Police allege Mr Macey engaged in a series of drug transactions with Mr Pearce and his associates at locations across Sydney: buying $44,000 worth of cocaine on one day, 60 litres of 1,4Butanediol, to be sold as gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB), the next.

Just over a month after he was arrested exiting the Metropolitan Hotel in Sydney’s CBD, Mr Macey remains in custody, following an unsuccessful application for bail at Central Local Court last week.

The application was rejected by Magistrate Margaret Quinn, despite an offer to post a $315,000 surety, and the support of family and friends, including rugby league identity Beau Champion, who attended the hearing alongside Mr Macey’s parents.

Bronte pharmacist Iain Byrne, who hosts a web-streamed rugby league talk show with Willie Mason, was among friends who offered cash amounts to contribute to a bail surety on Mr Macey’s behalf.

Police allege the syndicate ran an operation to supply cocaine and the industrial solvent Butanediol, an alternative to party drug GHB, in the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie regions.

Mr Macey has been charged with eight offences, including multiple counts of supplying more than a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug, dealing with proceeds of crime and knowingly participating in a criminal group.

He has worked in horse racing and betting and is a major shareholder of Fiix Group Pty Ltd, an end of lease cleaning company of which Champion is a director.

It is understood Mr Macey first came into the sights of police while they were conducting covert surveillance on his co-accused Pearce.

Mr Pearce, 35, became a prime suspect in a police investigation into the importation of prohibited drugs and performance and image enhancing drugs into NSW, which began in August last year.

Police allege Mr Pearce was importing Butanediol, MDMA, cocaine, Xanax and pseudoephedrine using various methods to avoid detection.

It is alleged he ran the majority of his importations online from his Lake Macquarie residence, receiving packages of the drugs at 10 different post office boxes, all of which were leased using fraudulent details.

Little did Mr Pearce know, he was being heavily monitored by police surveillance.

The covert operation meant authorities were watching when he allegedly recruited his brother, and now co-accused Brett Pearce, as a drug courier to be paid $2000 for every trip he made to Sydney.

On one such trip in November last year, the Pearce brothers allegedly drove a Porsche Cayenne to a McDonald's restaurant on Sydney’s upper north shore, where they met with Mr Macey, handing him a plastic bag that contained more than 270 grams of cocaine, which Mr Macey purchased for $44,000.

The following day Mr Macey was monitored meeting Brett Pearce in St Ives, allegedly loading three large boxes containing 60 litres of Butanediol, to be sold as GHB, into his BMW X4.

In one of the final deals that allegedly took place, Matthew Pearce arranged for his brother to deliver almost 400 grams of cocaine to a location in Morisset, south of Newcastle, to be received by Mr Macey’s friend and now co-accused Jay Ramsden, a Qantas engineer.

Mr Ramsden has been charged with multiple offences, including supplying a commercial quantity of a prohibited drug and knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime.

In court last week, Mr Macey’s barrister Tom Hughes argued that his client would need time to prepare his defence for what is a “reasonably strong case” against him, while he had also been suffering “suicidal thoughts” while in custody.

However, Ms Quinn refused bail, aruging that the police facts suggested Mr Macey was a recreational drug user, who was not "suddenly drawn into something… He had a long involvement in it.” Mr Macey will next appear in court via audio-visual on February 19.

Matthew Pearce has been charged with 10 offences, including supplying a prohibited drug of large commercial quantity, importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug, and manufacturing a prohibited drug.

His brother Brett, 33, has been charged with manufacturing or producing a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug and exposing a child to the process, while Mason, 40, was charged with knowingly taking part in the supply of a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug and participating in a criminal group.

The Pearce brothers, Mr Mason and Mr Ramsden will all appear at Toronto Local Court on February 19.