Inquest opens into death of drug gang leader Matthew Xavier

Matthew Xavier, 65, died in West Suffolk Hospital on December 16 last year. 

On Friday, July 28, Senior Coroner for Suffolk Nigel Parsley opened an inquest into Mr Xavier’s death.  

The court heard that Mr Xavier had been feeling unwell for a number of weeks, complaining of shortness of breath and a decreased appetite. 

He was taken to West Suffolk Hospital, where scans showed that he had stage four carcinoma, a cancer which arises in the epithelial tissue of the skin or of the lining of internal organs. 

He died in hospital at 7pm, on Friday, December 16. 

The court heard that Mr Xavier’s family have raised concerns that he had not been given treatment sooner. 

A case review will be conducted on September 8, and a pre-inquest review has been set for November 6. A date for a full inquest will then be decided. 

In March 2018, Mr Xavier was jailed 12 years for attacking two drug addicts as they waited in a parked car in Dereham to buy crack cocaine.  

While the pair were distracted by one of Mr Xavier’s associates, he approached from the other direction, opened the car door and began to attack them with a screwdriver and a pair of scissors. 

One of the men was dragged into a nearby alleyway, where he was punched and stabbed. The other was stabbed in the lower back but managed to escape. 

On March 23, 2018, Mr Xavier pleaded guilty to two counts of grievous bodily harm and one count of attempting to pervert the course of justice. He was jailed for 12 years. 

He was described as “the leader of one of mid Norfolk's biggest drug gangs”. 

Matthew Xavier was jailed for 12 years in 2018. Image: Norfolk Police (Image: Norfolk Police)