itstargetnews
Four members of the UK organized crime gang, including an 80-year-old man and his son, have been jailed for almost 50 years following an investigation into a multimillion-dollar firearms and counterfeit drugs operation in Wigan, northern England, according to Greater Manchester Police.
Authorities described the operation as an “industrial-scale tablet manufacturing facility”.
It was led by John Eric Spiby, 80, who previously won £2.4 million (C$4.4 million) in the 2010 lottery draw. The four men involved were found guilty of manufacturing and supplying counterfeit diazepam tablets, possessing a firearm, possessing ammunition and perverting the course of justice, among other charges.
(Diazepam is an anti-anxiety medication used to calm the nervous system, relieve muscle spasms, treat seizures, and ease alcohol withdrawal.)
Both Spiby and John Spiby Jr., 37, denied the offences, but were found guilty after a trial in November 2025, Greater Manchester Police said.
Left, John Spiby; right, his son John Spiby, Jr.
Greater Manchester Police
Two other men, Callum Dorian, 35, and Lee Ryan Drury, 45, were also sentenced to 12 and nine years respectively. Dorian is closed in 2024.
Callum Dorian, left, and Lee Drury, right.
Greater Manchester Police
The court heard that Spiby senior “secured the premises and helped to adapt the premises and buy machinery” worth thousands of pounds to manufacture the drug, the Guardian reported.
According to a media release, Judge Clarke KC, who oversaw Spiby’s sentencing on Tuesday, told him: “Despite your lottery winnings, you continued to live a life of crime well past what would otherwise have been your retirement years.”
Get the latest national news
For news that affects Canada and the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you as they happen.
Prosecutor Emma Clarke said the group was involved in the production of counterfeit diazepam with an estimated street value of £288 million (C$424 million).
Police identified the facility as “a house located behind Spiby Senior’s home,” which was found to contain “an industrial-scale pill manufacturing facility capable of producing tens of thousands of pills per hour.”
The group hired a shipping container in which millions of pills were stored awaiting distribution. Spiby also owned an industrial unit which he bought in 2021 with the intention of converting and expanding the group’s production capacity, police said.
Adam Kent KC, representing Spiby senior, said Dorian was “the main man of this operation”. He said that, according to Dorian, “the guy whose gaff we’re using is a millionaire,” referring to Spiby Sr.
Some of the firearms found in Spiby’s home were from World War II, he noted.
Social media messages sent through encrypted platforms were attributed to Dorian, who used the name “Fallensoda,” police said.
“Messages and images associated with this username indicated the facilitation and supply of firearms, including an AK-47, Uzi, Tec-9, Scorpion, Grand Power pistol, silencers and ammunition,” according to investigators.
In an attempt to operate inconspicuously, Drury created a fake company in August 2020, complete with a website advertising tablet presses, mixers, packaging machines and powdered supplements.
“The sentences should serve as a clear warning: organized crime will not be tolerated,” Det. Insp. Alex Brown said in a statement.
“We will continue to pursue those who seek to profit from harm and will use all available powers and tools to disrupt and dismantle serious organized crime groups.”
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
