What began as a life-changing lottery win ended as one of Britain’s most brazen criminal cases. John Spiby, a pensioner from Greater Manchester, used his £2.4 million National Lottery win in 2010 not to retire quietly, but to bankroll a sprawling counterfeit medicine operation. Prosecutors told the court that the scheme eventually produced fake prescription pills worth an estimated £288 million, spanning multiple sites and years. During the operation, Spiby even boasted that tech billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos should “watch their backs”, a remark that captured the scale of his delusion and ambition.
From lottery jackpot to a fake medicine empire
John Spiby won £2.4 million on the UK National Lottery in 2010 at the age of 65. Prosecutors said he used a significant portion of the winnings to fund and equip a counterfeit prescription drug manufacturing operation. The first production site was established in stables opposite his cottage near Wigan, Greater Manchester, which were converted into a pill-production facility. The operation manufactured counterfeit prescription tablets, including sedatives, using industrial tablet-pressing machinery. Police said the pills were produced in very large quantities, eventually reaching millions of tablets. As the operation grew, it expanded to a second laboratory at an industrial unit in Salford, substantially increasing production capacity. The court heard that Spiby’s sons were involved in the operation, assisting with production, logistics and distribution. Spiby and his sons were arrested, charged and convicted, with prosecutors describing him as the financial backer and organiser of the enterprise.Investigators calculated that over the lifetime of the conspiracy, the fake medicines produced by the group had a potential street value of up to £288 million. The figure was based on the volume of pills seized, production capacity, and distribution networks uncovered during the investigation.
How the fake medicine empire was exposed
The operation began to unravel after police stopped a van linked to the group and discovered it was carrying millions of counterfeit prescription tablets. The size of the haul immediately raised red flags, signalling an organised manufacturing network rather than small-scale dealing. That seizure triggered a wider investigation into the supply chain, with officers analysing phone records, financial transactions and property links connected to the suspects.Those enquiries led police to Spiby’s rural property near Wigan, where raids uncovered a fully equipped pill-production laboratory hidden in stables opposite his home, complete with tablet presses, chemical compounds and professional packaging. Further surveillance and communications data then pointed investigators to the Salford industrial unit, where a second lab was found. Raids there uncovered additional machinery, cash, weapons and millions more tablets, exposing the true scale of an empire funded in part by Spiby’s lottery winnings.
‘Elon and Jeff best watch their backs’
One of the most striking details to emerge during the trial was Spiby’s boastful message to associates, in which he claimed “Elon and Jeff best watch their backs”. Prosecutors said the comment was not a threat but an expression of grandiosity, showing how Spiby viewed his illegal profits as placing him in the same league as global tech billionaires.The remark was cited in court as evidence of his mindset and the scale of the operation he believed he was running.
Sentencing and judicial response
At sentencing, the judge criticised Spiby for choosing to fund organised crime despite having financial security, noting that his actions showed “a complete disregard for public safety”. The court highlighted the serious health risks posed by counterfeit medicines, which can contain incorrect dosages or harmful substances.Spiby received a lengthy prison sentence, with additional penalties imposed on co-defendants involved in the scheme.The case stands out not only for its scale, but for its irony. A lottery win intended to bring comfort instead funded a criminal enterprise that endangered lives. For prosecutors, it underscored how financial windfalls can fuel serious crime, while for the public, it became a reminder that sometimes the most unbelievable stories are also entirely real.
