John Eric Spiby, 80, has been sentenced to 16 years after police uncovered an industrial-scale counterfeit-pill operation run from his cottage. Authorities seized millions of counterfeit diazepam tablets—many laced with the hazardous drug etizolam—manufacturing equipment, a shipping container of stock and multiple firearms. His son received nine years; two other associates received 12 and nine years respectively. Police estimate the ring's potential street value at roughly $80 million to $400 million.
80-Year-Old Lottery Winner Jailed 16 Years For Backing Up To $400M Counterfeit-Pill Empire From Cottage
80-year-old lottery winner sentenced for bankrolling $400M drug empire from cottage with son
Authorities in England have jailed an 80-year-old former lottery winner after investigators uncovered an industrial-scale operation making counterfeit diazepam tablets—many laced with the dangerous drug etizolam—run from a cottage alongside his son and two associates.
John Eric Spiby, 80, was sentenced to 16 years in prison following a Greater Manchester Police investigation that found counterfeit pills and sophisticated tablet-manufacturing equipment with a potential street value estimated between $80 million and $400 million. His son, John Colin Spiby, 37, received a nine-year sentence.
How the Operation Worked
Police say Spiby used lottery winnings from 2010—he reportedly cashed a National Lottery prize of £2.4 million (roughly $3.3 million in 2026)—and later converted a cottage behind his home into an "industrial-scale tablet manufacturing set-up capable of producing tens of thousands of tablets per hour." Court evidence described efforts to conceal the lab, including frosting windows and operating under a façade of a legitimate company with a website advertising tablet presses and packaging equipment.
Raids, Seizures and Weapons
Officers intercepted a vehicle in April 2022 containing approximately 2.6 million counterfeit diazepam tablets, with an estimated street value of about $1.4 million to $7 million for that load. A subsequent warrant in May 2022 led to seizures of firearms, ammunition, cash, manufacturing machinery, raw materials and more counterfeit pills. Recovered weapons reportedly included AK-47s, an Uzi, Tec-9s, a Scorpion, a Grand Power pistol, silencers and ammunition.
A neighborhood in Wigan, Greater Manchester, in 2021.(Getty Images)
"These four individuals showed absolutely no regard for human life or public safety,"
said Detective Inspector Alex Brown of the Serious Organized Crime Group. "The volume of tablets we recovered — along with the sophisticated machinery — demonstrated how deeply embedded this group was in the illicit drug supply chain."
Charges, Sentences And Co-Conspirators
The four defendants were convicted on charges that included conspiracy to produce and supply Class C drugs, conspiracy to supply firearms, possession of firearms and ammunition, and perverting the course of justice. Of the other two co-defendants, Callum Dorian, 35, was sentenced to 12 years in September 2024, and Lee Ryan Drury, 45, received nine years.
Judge Nicholas Clarke KC noted at sentencing that despite Spiby's lottery windfall, he "continued to live your life of crime beyond what would be a normal retirement age." Police estimate the operation's broader output had a potential street value of roughly $80 million to $400 million.
Fox News Digital and Greater Manchester Police provided details of the investigation; authorities say the counterfeit pills posed serious risks because etizolam—banned in the U.S. and dangerous in high doses—can cause severe central nervous system depression, respiratory failure and death.
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