Authorities disclosed on Wednesday that an elderly man who employed his… to operate a drug empire from his cottage along with his son and two accomplices has been sentenced to jail.
Greater Manchester Police reported that 80-year-old John Eric Spiby was handed a 16-year prison term in England after an investigation uncovered counterfeit pills valued at up to $400 million. His 37-year-old son, John Colin Spiby, was sentenced to nine years.
Alex Brown, detective inspector of the Serious Organized Crime Group that led the investigation, stated in a release: “They ran a fully industrialized operation capable of manufacturing millions of counterfeit tablets containing a highly dangerous substance.”
“The quantity of tablets we recovered, along with the advanced machinery, showed how deeply entrenched this group was in the illegal drug supply chain,” he added.
UK local outlet LBC reported that Spiby won the National Lottery in 2010, when he was around 65, cashing out £2.4 million, which is equivalent to roughly $3.3 million in 2026.
During the sentencing, Judge Nicholas Clarke KC told LBC, “Despite your lottery win, you carried on with your criminal life beyond what would be a normal retirement age.”
Police said that between November 2021 and May 2022, Spiby outfitted the cottage behind his home with an “industrial-scale tablet manufacturing setup capable of producing tens of thousands of tablets per hour.” LBC reported that, according to a court hearing, they also managed to “conceal” his lab by frosting the windows.
The organization is alleged to have produced counterfeit diazepam tablets, also known as Valium, laced with etizolam, a substance prohibited in the U.S. usually prescribed for insomnia and anxiety. In high doses, etizolam can cause severe central nervous system depression, potentially leading to unconsciousness, respiratory failure, and death.
Police said the group also facilitated and supplied firearms including AK-47s, an Uzi, Tec-9s, a Scorpion, a Grand Power pistol, silencers, and ammunition.
In August 2020, at the early stage of the operation, the group reportedly operated “under the pretense of a legitimate business” by creating a fake company and a website advertising tablet presses, mixers, packaging machines, and powdered supplements.
During the operation, the suspects rented a shipping container to store materials and millions of counterfeit tablets awaiting distribution. However, officers intercepted them in April 2022 and found a vehicle with 2.6 million counterfeit diazepam tablets estimated to have a street value between $1.4 million and $7 million.
The following month, a warrant led to the seizure of guns, ammunition, cash, machinery, counterfeit drugs, and raw materials.
Police estimated that the crime ring produced drugs with a potential street value of roughly $80 million to $400 million.
Among the other two accomplices, 35-year-old Callum Dorian was given a 12-year prison term in September 2024, while 45-year-old Lee Ryan Drury was sentenced to nine years.
The four members faced charges including conspiracy to produce and supply Class C drugs, conspiracy to supply firearms, and perverting the course of justice.
Brown said, “These four individuals showed no concern for human life or public safety. All they were interested in was financial gain.”
Digital reached out to Greater Manchester Police for more information.