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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Mark Brown North of England correspondent

Wigan lottery winner, 80, helped build counterfeit drugs empire, court told

John Eric Spiby
John Eric Spiby, who was a £2.4m national lottery winner in 2010, the court was told. Photograph: Greater Manchester police

A man who won £2.4m on the national lottery helped build a multimillion pound drug empire that involved manufacturing counterfeit tablets on an industrial scale, a court has heard.

John Eric Spiby, 80, was the leader of a drugs operation worth up to £288m that centred on his “quiet, rural” home near Wigan, Bolton crown court was told.

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