John Spiby: The lottery winner who funded a drug empire
When John Eric Spiby won £2.4m on the National Lottery in 2010, friends must have expected him to happily retire in luxury. At 65, he was the right age for it. However, Spiby turned out to have very different – and surprisingly nefarious – plans.
Many pensioners with Spiby’s newfound wealth would have snapped up holiday retreats or prestige cars. In the event, Spiby did opt to renovate his home in the village of Astley, near Wigan – but not in the way you would expect.
With his money (and the help of his son), Spiby set up a drugs factory in what looked like, from the outside, an inconspicuous cottage. A police sting at the property uncovered fake pills potentially worth up to £288m. Crime+Investigation were stunned to hear the full story of John Spiby’s covert drugs empire.
The ‘silver crime wave’ engulfing Britain
If you keep a close eye on the news, you might have noticed an increase in crimes committed by the elderly. Consider the example of the Hatton Garden burglars – who, in April 2015, made off with a haul estimated (back then) to be worth £14 million.
The thieves became famous for their advanced years, picking up such nicknames as ‘Bad Dad’s Army’ and ‘Diamond Wheezers’. Furthermore, according to the Daily Mail, the number of prisoners aged 60 or over has grown by 82% in the last decade.
What factors have driven this trend? Courts have shifted towards imposing longer sentences, criminologist Louise Ridley acknowledged to the Daily Mail. She also cited a ‘lower tolerance by courts of deviant behaviour by older people’.
How did John Spiby keep his criminal activities secret?
It’s fair to say that the rather secluded nature of John Spiby’s residence effectively helped him to conceal his crime spree. After Spiby’s sentencing, his neighbours admitted to being mostly oblivious to what had been happening practically under their noses.
One farmer told the BBC: ‘He drove around in a battered old van and just looked like a normal OAP rather than something out of Breaking Bad.’
Retired teacher Sue Jones revealed to the BBC: ‘We were all stunned when we found out what he’d been up to. This is a quiet semi-road and you can’t really see into any of the houses. It’s ideal if you want to keep things hidden, which is obviously why he chose the place.’
What drugs did John Spiby make?
These pills sold on the street were passed off as daizepam, which is used to treat anxiety and seizures. However, Spiby’s tablets were ‘unregulated, unlicensed and unchecked’, Bolton Crown Court heard in November 2025.
Indeed, according to GMP, these counterfeit pills contained a ‘highly dangerous substance’. Hence, they caused ‘untold harm’ to people consuming them. At a jury trial, Spiby was convicted of conspiracy to produce and supply class C drugs.
Spiby’s illicit activities weren’t limited to drug dealing. He was also found guilty of illegally possessing firearms and ammunition, all of which had been seized by police raiding his premises in May 2022. Spiby is now serving a prison sentence of 16 years and six months.
Was John Spiby the true brains of the operation?
Spiby’s illegal schemes were far from just family affairs. They involved not only his son John Colin Spiby but also two other associates – Callum Dorian and Lee Drury. The group purchased £200,000-worth of machinery and ingredients between June 2020 and May 2022.
Spiby Sr’s defence lawyer Adam Kent KC downplayed his client’s role in the operation, insisting that Dorian was the real head honcho. He quoted Dorian boasting that the ‘guy whose gaff we use is a millionaire’ – a reference to Spiby Sr.
Kent also highlighted the ‘antiquity’ of revolvers found at Spiby Sr’s home. In claiming that these guns dated to the First World War, Kent implied that his client did not intend to use them for nefarious purposes.
Nonetheless, Judge Nicholas Clarke KC told Spiby Sr in the courtroom: ‘You provided the premises and helped adapt the premises and purchase machinery. You were senior both in name and role.’ Meanwhile, Spiby Jnr was ‘involved in deliveries, meetings and stock’.
Dorrian had already been jailed in 2024, but Spiby Jnr and Drury were also given prison sentences at the following year’s trial.
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