Four members of a 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 counterfeit firearms and drugs operation in Wigan, northern England, according to Greater Manchester Police.
Authorities described the operation as an “industrial-scale tablet manufacturing facility.”
It was run by John Eric Spiby, 80, who had previously won £2.4 million (C$4.4 million) in a lottery draw in 2010. The four men involved were found guilty of producing and supplying counterfeit diazepam tablets, possession of a firearm, possession of ammunition and perverting justice, among other charges.
(Diazepam is an anti-anxiety medication used to calm the nervous system, relieve muscle spasms, treat seizures, and relieve alcohol withdrawal.)
Both Spiby and John Spiby Jr., 37, denied the offenses but were found guilty after a trial in November 2025, Greater Manchester Police said.
Left, John Spiby; to the right, his son John Spiby, Jr.
Greater Manchester Police
Two other men, Callum Dorian, 35, and Lee Ryan Drury, 45, were also found guilty and sentenced to 12 years and nine years respectively. Dorian was imprisoned in 2024.
Callum Dorian, left, and Lee Drury, right.
Greater Manchester Police
The court heard Spiby senior “provided the facilities and helped to adapt them and purchase machinery” worth thousands of pounds to produce the drugs. the guardian reported.
According to the outlet, Judge Clarke KC, who oversaw Spiby’s sentencing on Tuesday, told him: “Despite winning the lottery, you continued to live a life of crime beyond what would normally have been your retirement years.”
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Prosecutor Emma Clarke said the gang 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 cabin located behind Spiby Senior’s home,” which contained “an industrial-scale tablet manufacturing facility capable of producing tens of thousands of tablets per hour.”
The group rented a shipping container that stored millions of pills awaiting distribution. Spiby also owned an industrial unit, which he purchased in 2021 with the intention of reconverting and expanding the group’s production capacity, police said.
Adam Kent KC, representing Spiby Sr, said Dorian was the “principal of this operation”. He said that, in Dorian’s words, “the guy whose hook we used is a millionaire,” referring to Spiby Sr.
Some of the firearms found in Spiby’s home were from World War II, he said.
Social media messages sent through encrypted platforms were attributed to Dorian, who used the alias “Fallensoda,” police said.
“Messages and images linked to this username depicted the facilitation and supply of firearms, including AK-47, an Uzi, Tec-9, a Scorpion, a Grand Power pistol, silencers and ammunition,” according to investigators.
In an attempt to operate undetected, Drury created a fake company in August 2020, with a website advertising tablet presses, mixers, packaging machines and powder supplements.
“The sentences should serve as a clear warning: organized crime will not be tolerated,” the detective said. insp. Alex Brown said in a statement.
“We will continue to pursue those who seek to profit from harm and will use all powers and tools available to disrupt and dismantle serious organized criminal gangs.”
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