A National Lottery winner set up an illegal drugs lab at his rural cottage, producing fake prescription pills worth millions.
John Eric Spiby scooped a £2.4million jackpot in 2010 when he was 65.
However, he went on to build a “sophisticated” lab to produce counterfeit medication in “stables” opposite his cottage near Wigan, Greater Manchester.
When he was discussing the illicit operation, he once boasted “Elon and Jeff best watch their backs”, a reference to billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.
Spiby would then set up a second drug factory near Salford to produce “unregulated, unlicensed and unchecked” drugs, along with his son and two associates.
Callum Dorian, of Guilford Road, Eccles and Lee Ryan Drury, of Hassall Street, Stalybridge, both pleaded guilty and were jailed.
A shipping container on Chaddock Lane in Astley, rented by Drury and controlled by the group, was used to store materials and millions of counterfeit tablets awaiting distribution.
In an attempt to remain undetected, Drury created a fake company in August 2020, complete with a website advertising tablet presses, mixers, packaging machines, and powdered supplements.
John Eric Spiby has now been jailed
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GREATER MANCHESTER POLICE
On April 1 2022, officers observed Dorian and Drury loading a hire van with boxes from the Chaddock Lane storage site.
The vehicle was intercepted and found to contain 2.6 million counterfeit Diazepam tablets, with an estimated street value of between £1,040,000 and £5,200,000.
On the May 17, 2022, officers carried out a number of warrants which resulted in the seizure of three viable firearms, ammunition, cash, industrial tablet‑manufacturing machinery, and significant quantities of counterfeit tablets and raw materials.
All four men were arrested and remanded into custody. During the investigation, officers estimated that the group produced counterfeit tablets with a bulk value of between £7.2million and £12.9million, and a potential street value ranging from £57.6million to £288million.
John Eric Spiby is a former winner
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PAJohn Eric Spiby Sr, of Lower Green Lane, Astley, Tyldesley, was jailed at Bolton Crown Court for 16 years and six months for conspiracy to produce and supply Class C drugs, two counts of possessing a firearm, possession of ammunition, and perverting the course of justice.
His son, of Britannia Street, Salford, has been sentenced to nine years in prison for conspiracy to produce and supply Class C drugs.
Both had denied the offences but were found guilty after a trial in November 2025.
Dorian received a 12‑year prison sentence in September 2024 for conspiracy to supply firearms and conspiracy to produce and supply Class C drugs.
Drury pleaded guilty midway through the trial to conspiracy to produce and supply Class C drugs and has been jailed for nine years and nine months.
Callum Dorian and Lee Ryan Drury were found guilty
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GMP
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.
“The sentences should serve as a clear warning: organised crime will not be tolerated. We will continue to pursue those who seek to profit from harm, and we will use every power and tool available to disrupt and dismantle serious organised crime gangs.”
