Gangster, 80, turned pensioner cottage into £288m drug empire after lottery win
After winning the lottery in 2010, British pensioner John Eric Spiby used his fortune to build a £288m drug empire, turning his cottage stables near Wigan into a “sophisticated” lab
John Eric Spiby(Image: Greater Manchester Police / SWNS)
A British pensioner who struck it lucky with a winning lottery ticket used his newfound fortune to build a huge drug empire. The 80-year-old turned his stables into a sophisticated lab churning out millions of counterfeit pills.
As the illicit operation grew, so did the body count, with desperate addicts playing “Russian roulette” with their lives. After scooping a lottery win in 2010, John Eric Spiby transformed the “stables” opposite his cottage near Wigan, Greater Manchester, into a “sophisticated” drugs laboratory.
At 65, Spiby reportedly began manufacturing counterfeit medication on a massive scale, with the operation’s street value estimated at up to £288 million. He expanded his criminal enterprise with the help of his son and two associates.
Spiby further set up a second drug lab in Salford to distribute “unregulated, unlicensed and unchecked” pills, according to court testimony. At the peak of his illegal business, Spiby even claimed that tech moguls Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos “best watch their backs”.
Prosecutors revealed that as the sale of fake drugs surged, so did drug-related deaths, with users “playing Russian roulette” with their lives, LBC reported. The gang’s success attracted police attention after incriminating messages were discovered on an encrypted app, referred to as the “WhatsApp for criminals”.
A raid on a hired van reportedly uncovered 2.6 million counterfeit Diazepam tablets, valued at up to £5.2 million. More searches found three firearms, ammunition, cash, and industrial pill-making equipment.
Despite his “significant” criminal history, Spiby Sr, now 80, denied involvement but was convicted of drug offences and sentenced to 16-and-a-half years behind bars, according to LBC. Judge Nicholas Clarke KC remarked: “Despite your lottery win, you continued to live your life of crime beyond what would be a normal retirement age.”
Spiby’s son, John Colin Spiby, and associate Lee Drury received more than 18 years in jail, while Callum Dorrian, 35, was previously sentenced to 12 years. The court heard Spiby Snr used frosted windows to “hide” the lab, which housed “industrial-scale” machines capable of producing tens of thousands of tablets per hour.
Drury’s company, Nutra Inc, acted as a front for the illegal operation, with £200,000 spent on machinery and ingredients between June 2020 and May 2022, and pills sold for 65p each. The group’s activities were ultimately exposed by French law enforcement, who accessed encrypted EncroChat messages discussing raw materials and plans to synthesise drugs for greater profit.
As per LBC, the drug recipe was found on Drury’s phone. Police surveillance caught Dorrian and Drury loading boxes into a rented van bound for a Manchester hotel in April 2022.
On May 17, 2022, warrants reportedly led to the seizure of firearms, ammunition, cash, and large quantities of counterfeit tablets and ingredients. All four men were arrested and remanded.
Judge Clarke noted the gang sold pills to people who “could not find them through legitimate means”, causing “untold harm” to addicts. Dorrian, of Eccles, was previously sentenced for conspiracy to supply firearms and Class C drugs.
Spiby Sr, of Astley, was also convicted of conspiracy to possess firearms and ammunition with intent to endanger life. Spiby Jr, 37, of Salford, received nine years for conspiracy to produce and supply Class B and C drugs, while Drury, 45, of Stalybridge, was jailed for nine years and nine months after pleading guilty mid-trial.
Detective Inspector Alex Brown, from Greater Manchester Police’s Serious Organised Crime Group, said: “These four individuals showed absolutely no regard for human life or public safety. All they were interested in was lining their own pockets with significant financial gain.
“They operated a fully industrialised drug‑manufacturing business capable of producing millions of counterfeit tablets containing a highly dangerous substance. The volume of tablets we recovered – along with the sophisticated machinery – demonstrated how deeply embedded this group was in the illicit drug supply chain.
“Alongside the drug production, this group was also linked to the supply of a range of deadly firearms, including automatic weapons and ammunition. This potentially deadly combination presented a serious threat to communities not just in Greater Manchester but across the country and beyond.”
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.
