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80-year-old used £2.4 million lottery win to build drug empire

Rob Beschizza
Jan 29, 2026
∙ Paid

Spiby in his Greater Manchester Police mugshot

Unlike most lottery winners, John Eric Spiby didn’t fritter away his £2.4 million jackpot on frivolous things. Instead, he built it into what police claim was a £288m drug empire, constructing a lab to manufacture benzodiazepines in a building opposite his cottage in Wigan, England.

Spiby went on to grow his …

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