Drugs kingpin caught red-handed with £2m of cocaine had oesophageal cancer, inquest hears
Leslie Moulden, 62, died in March 2022 of oesophageal cancer which had spread.
by Sam Volpe · ChronicleLiveDrugs kingpin Leslie Moulden died in hospital of oesophageal cancer, an inquest heard.
Moulden, 62, was a prisoner at HMP Northumberland at the time of his death - which came after he had received cancer treatment for at least a year. An inquest into his death resumed on Tuesday, October 8, but has now been adjourned to allow his family time to engage new solicitors, after their previous representation were said to have discovered a conflict of interest last week.
Coroner Karen Dilks agreed to adjourned the case following an application from Moulden's daughter Leanne, who said she had not "been able to face" considering a series of reports into his death. Moulden, formerly of Wallsend, was handed a 16-year prison sentence in 2019 after he was found in court to have conspired to flood Tyneside with millions of pounds of Class A drugs.
The drug boss - known as Les - had been diagnosed with oesophageal cancer. Coroner Mrs Dilks recounted the medical circumstances of Moulden's death before the court. She said: "He had surgical treatment for oesophageal cancer in February 2021, having had neoadjuvant chemotherapy."
The coroner discussed how Moulden underwent treatment, but a CT scan in January 2022 found his cancer had "both recurred and spread". He died at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, in Newcastle, at the end of March 2022.
At the inquest, daughter Leanne Moulden explained she rang around 20 solicitors firms on Friday and been told the only way she would be able to find representation would be if an adjournment was granted. She told the court it had been "really, really hard" and was emotional as she explained how the family had struggled to get to grips with the documents they had been given. After the adjournment was granted, she thanked the coroner and apologised to those present.
Before being locked up, Moulden spent a year on the run from the law after he was caught red-handed with over £2m of cocaine. He was said to have spearheaded a lucrative drug ring with the help of someone he met in jail. But he was eventually brought to justice and handed 16 years behind bars in 2019.
Moulden had been at the helm of a gang involved in trafficking millions of pounds of high-purity drugs into the North East. While still on licence after being released from a 16-year sentence for conspiracy to supply MDMA, he set up the multi-million-pound underworld operation with Liverpool gangster John Mullally, who he met in prison.
Prosecutors at the time said the gang made many trips between Merseyside and Tyneside in what police called a 'sophisticated and organised operation'. When police moved in to bust the gang, Moulden, then of Dilston Grange, Wallsend, was caught red-handed with four kilos of 86% pure cocaine, worth up to £2m.
The crown court in 2019 heard that he was "two different people" - a loving family man as well as a drugs trafficker, while a lawyer mitigating on his behalf said he was "no Pablo Escobar".
At the inquest, Sodexo, which operate HMP Northumberland, and Spectrum Health, which runs health services within the prison, are both represented. The inquest into Moulden's death has been adjourned to resume on November 14.
Join our WhatsApp communities
ChronicleLive is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our communities.
We have a number of communities to join, so you can choose which one you want to be part of and we'll send you the latest news direct to your phone. You could even join them all!
To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press 'join community'.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.
If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.
Join the ChronicleLive Breaking News and Top Stories community
Join our Court & Crime community
Join the Things to do in Newcastle and the North East community
Join our Northumberland community
Join our County Durham community
Join our Great North Run community