The £2.4m OAP lotto winner who used his jackpot to build a £288m Breaking Bad style drugs empire from Cheshire cottage - right under the nose of his unsuspecting wife
When pensioner John Spiby messed around in the sheds and outbuildings behind his pretty rural cottage, his wife paid little attention.But unbeknown to Trisha Spiby, 79, her husband, who had landed a bumper £2.5million lottery win aged 65, wasn't gardening or pottering away his retirement like many elderly men.Instead, Spiby, 80, used his lottery winnings to build up a 'Breaking Bad' style drugs empire worth £288million, and as the money rolled in, he even boasted to his accomplices: 'Elon and Jeff better watch their backs', referring to Tesla and Amazon billionaires Musk and Bezos.Residents in Astley, near Wigan, Greater Manchester, were equally oblivious to the industrial-scale drugs production facility behind the frosted windows and garage doors of a converted stable-block on Spiby's land. The only hint that he had come into money was the brief appearance of a red Lambourghini on the drive.Besides that they thought their neighbour was merely enjoying a well-earned rest, when in fact he was churning out fake diazepam tablets at a rate of tens of thousands per hour.The £600,000 red brick house sits comfortably on the quiet, rural, country lane, but drone images reveal that alongside the small back garden is a long driveway leading to a clutch of converted stables.However, despite their remote location, the group were under police surveillance, and when officers finally swooped on a hired van it was found to contain 2.6million counterfeit Diazepam tablets with a street value of up to £5.2million.Inside the building was high-spec machinery and a seemingly endless supply of the potentially addictive tranquilisers used to treat anxiety. When pensioner John Spiby messed around in the sheds and outbuildings behind his pretty rural cottage (pictured), his wife paid little attention But unbeknown to Trisha Spiby, 79, her husband, who had landed a bumper £2.5million lottery win aged 65, wasn't gardening or pottering away his retirement like many elderly men. Pictured: The couple's home Instead, Spiby, 80, used his lottery winnings to build up a ' Breaking Bad' style drugs empire worth £288million, based out of an industrial-scale drugs production facility (pictured) behind the frosted windows and garage doors of a converted stable-block on Spiby's land When police raided the building (pictured), inside was high-spec machinery and a seemingly endless supply of the potentially addictive tranquilisers used to treat anxiety The case had echoes of the series Breaking Bad, in which chemistry teacher Walter White (Bryan Cranston) turns to the crystal meth business out of financial desperation after being diagnosed with cancer. But Spiby (pictured), after his lottery win, was far from desperateThe conspiracy police uncovered turned out to be 'very sophisticated and very significant'.Police raided a string of properties and found three firearms plus ammunition, as well as cash and industrial tablet manufacturing machinery.Desperate users who bought the pills at 65p a time were playing 'Russian roulette' with their lives, prosecutors said, and said there had been an increase in drug-related deaths in the area.Detectives estimate that the potential street value of the drugs produced by Spiby and his gang ranged from £57.6million to £288million, leading the Judge to describe the scale of the operation as 'truly horrifying'.The case had echoes of the Netflix series Breaking Bad, in which chemistry teacher Walter White (Bryan Cranston) turns to the crystal meth business out of financial desperation after being diagnosed with cancer.But Spiby was far from desperate. In 2010 after his lottery win, instead of comfortably retiring, he bought the cottage and went on to build his 'sophisticated' lab to produce counterfeit medication.Along with his son, also called John, 36, and two associates, father-of-three Spiby set up a second drug factory in Salford to flood the streets with 'unregulated, unlicensed and unchecked' drugs.The gang used Encrochat, the sophisticated encrypted network dubbed 'Gangster's WhatsApp', to communicate, and it was on a group chat that Spiby cracked the joke about his similarity to the US tech tycoons.Locals told the Daily Mail that Spiby's elderly wife Patricia had no idea what he was up despite running the operation from buildings behind the hawthorn hedges in his back garden.One said: 'She thought he was just pottering around out the back like most old blokes do.'She had no idea. This has crushed her.'Join the debateDid this story surprise YOU? Instead of comfortably retiring with his winnings, he bought the cottage (pictured) and went on to build his 'sophisticated' lab to produce counterfeit medication An image of a gun which Spiby's gang shared over encrypted Encrochat messaging Police also seized bundles of cash from the gang's drug factories Police found boxes full of counterfeit pills when they raided the gang's 'sophisticated' drug factoriesYet, incredibly, he thought he'd also managed to keep the whole operation away from prying eyes by carefully choosing a home hidden deep in the foliage of an English village.Clover Cottage seemed perfect because, tucked away amid trees and bushes at the side of a road where it is impossible to park, no one could see what he was up to – or so he thought.There are only a smattering of other houses in the nearby vicinity, at least three of which were connected to him or his associates.But the area also helped because it is semi agricultural/industrial with businesses dealing in animal feed, waste, wood yard and a stud along the same lane.So any traffic generated by his drug dealing business would be hidden by the normal comings and goings of lorries and cars connected to legitimate companies.A local farmer told the Mail: 'It's an absolutely perfect spot for him. No-one would have guessed there was a drug factory in there.'The fact that lorries go up and down here all the time meant he could move all the drug moving machinery in and no-one would bat an eyelid.'And he could move the drugs out in as big a quantity as he wanted. The place was perfect.'Mind you, people did talk about the fact that he had been done for drugs before he came here but we thought he had given it up.'But you could not move for policemen around here when they finally found him out. They were everywhere.'It wasn't just his house because there were others along the lane raided too.'Normally a bird crossing the road is the only excitement around here but all of a sudden it was if every police officer around was here.'We were all shocked.'After all, he's a pensioner. You would not think Breaking Bad was happening down these country lanes.'Locals shook their heads in disbelief at how he got away with it.One told us: 'He did keep himself to himself, but I suppose you would if you are in his line of business.'You are hardly likely to be sociable if you are in charge of a drugs cartel. Spiby's son, John Colin Spiby, 37, was not 'just told what to do' by his millionaire father, a judge said as he jailed him for nine years over the drug conspiracy Lee Drury, 45, (left) and Callum Dorrian, 35, (right) were both also jailed'There were often flash cars around the place - he once had a Lamborghini- but I thought nothing of it. I just thought he liked cars.'He has been here around 15 years along with other members of his family. I thought he was a respectable bloke despite the rumours.'It just shows you how wrong you can be.'.Jailing him for 16 years and six months this week, Honorary Recorder for Bolton Judge Nicholas Clarke KC, said: 'Despite your lottery win you continued to live a life of crime beyond what would normally have been your retirement years.'
