An 80-year-old man based in the United Kingdom who won a multi-million dollar jackpot in the national lottery has been convicted of running a large-scale drug empire.
As reported by The Guardian, 80-year-old John Eric Spiby from Wigan, England, won £2.4 million (roughly $3.3 million) in the national lottery in 2010 and allegedly used his wealth to build a drug empire producing counterfeit pills.
Spiby denied any involvement in the drug empire but was found guilty by a jury on several drug-related charges. He was convicted of producing and supplying drugs, two counts of possession of firearms, possession of ammunition, and perverting the course of justice.
Spiby has been sentenced to 16 years and six months behind bars for his involvement in producing and selling drugs, particularly Valium (known as diazepam in the UK). He was accused of providing “the premises” and purchasing the machinery to run the operation.
“Despite your lottery win you continued to live a life of crime beyond what would normally have been your retirement years,” Judge Clarke KC told Spiby during his sentencing on Tuesday (Jan. 27).
Spiby was jailed alongside his 37-year-old son John Colin Spiby, 45-year-old Lee Drury, and 35-year-old Callum Dorian.
In a group chat with his alleged co-conspirators, he bragged, “Elon [Musk] and Jeff [Bezos] best watch their backs.”
The drug empire was estimated to have been worth as much as £288 million (approximately $397 million).
Dorian was allegedly the “principal of this operation,” serving as the organizer and director, using Spiby’s home in an “ostensibly rural, quiet area” as the base of operations. Dorian was sentenced to 12 years in 2024, while Drury and Spiby’s son were jailed for nine years plus nine months, and nine years, respectively.
