A convicted Sydney drug dealer with a taste for the eastern suburbs high life has quietly returned to his old haunts after doing a stretch behind bars.

Andrew 'Andy' Roberts, a 51-year-old English expat and poker player, was recently seen back on the Bondi social circuit at the downstairs RSL-style bistro below the hatted Icebergs Dining Room and Bar.

He was released from custody in late 2025 following almost two years in prison, a Corrective Services NSW spokesperson confirmed to the Daily Mail this week.

He had been sentenced by the District Court in May 2025 after pleading guilty to large-scale drug supply, receiving a total jail sentence of four years and two months, backdated to his November 2023 arrest.

He was eligible for parole from December. The Mail does not suggest any wrongdoing since his release.

Prior to his imprisonment, Roberts had been living in Bondi with his partner and son.

Roberts was one of eight people arrested on November 29, 2023, as part of Strike Force Shiel, a six-month investigation by the State Crime Command's Drug and Firearms Squad into alleged drug supply operations across Sydney.

Police stormed Roberts' North Bondi home alongside a drug-detection dog, finding the father of one standing in his underwear with his arms raised as officers searched the property.

Detectives claimed to have uncovered 20 grams of ketamine, 15 grams of MDMA, psychedelic mushrooms and approximately $120,000 in cash. 

Wearing a red Hawaiian shirt at the time of his arrest, Roberts was escorted into the back of a police paddy wagon before being taken to Waverley Police Station.

There, he was charged with taking part in the supply of a large commercial quantity of prohibited drugs, participating in a criminal group and knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime.

Police also arrested a 38-year-old man in Rouse Hill and a 31-year-old man in Neutral Bay.

Roberts later appeared before Waverley Local Court, where he was refused bail.

Following the North Bondi raid, detectives attached to Strike Force Shiel - alongside officers from State Crime Command squads, the Dog Squad, Riot Squad and the Australian Border Force - executed a string of search warrants across Zetland, Burwood, Wiley Park, Concord West, Belmore, Campsie and Beverly Hills.

Men aged 29, 32 and 46 were arrested at a Beverly Hills address, while a 63-year-old man was arrested in Campsie.

During the raids, police allegedly seized illegal drugs, gold bullion, prohibited weapons and a phone case that unfolded into a plastic handgun capable of firing bullets.

Authorities also allegedly seized close to $360,000 in cash, 12.5 kilograms of heroin, 8 kilograms of methylamphetamine and 10 kilograms of cannabis. 

In the years before his arrest, Roberts briefly worked as a furniture removalist and was known to frequent Beach Road Hotel.

And months prior to the raid, he was the runner up in a poker tournament at St. George Leagues Club earning him $26,280 in tax-free prize money. 

It is understood that Roberts' colourful presence in the eastern suburbs made him stand out among the area's usual dealers, many of whom are tracksuit-clad blow-ins from out west.

And while he appears to have returned to his old Bondi stomping grounds, we do not suggest that he has resumed his former illicit trade.

Indeed, it's entirely likely that a stretch in prison has encouraged him to stay on the straight and narrow.

However, the question everyone's asking is: who among the upper-middle-class party set that once relied on his services is making discreet enquiries?