Salford and Eccles gang jailed for nearly 50 years over guns and drugs plot

Four men from across Greater Manchester, including Salford and Eccles, have been jailed for a total of 47 years for running a multimillion-pound illegal drugs and firearms operation that spanned the UK.

The group operated what police described as an “industrial-scale tablet manufacturing set-up” in Wigan, capable of producing millions of counterfeit diazepam tablets. Some members were also linked to the illegal supply of weapons including AK-47s, Uzi submachine guns and a Scorpion pistol.

Callum Dorian, 33, of Guilford Road, Eccles, was sentenced in September 2024 to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply firearms and conspiracy to produce and supply Class C drugs.

John Colin Spiby, 38, of Britannia Street, Salford, received a nine-year sentence for conspiracy to produce and supply Class C drugs. His father, John Eric Spiby, 80, from Astley, was jailed for 16 years and six months after being convicted of a range of offences including firearms possession and perverting the course of justice.

A fourth man, Lee Ryan Drury, 45, from Stalybridge, was sentenced to nine years and nine months after pleading guilty partway through the trial.

The men were sentenced at Bolton Crown Court following a lengthy investigation by Greater Manchester Police’s Serious Organised Crime Group. Officers tracked the group using intelligence from Operation Venetic – a national crackdown on organised crime using the encrypted messaging platform EncroChat.

Dorian was linked to the handle “Fallensoda”, which shared messages about sourcing and distributing weapons and coordinating the mass production of counterfeit tablets containing etizolam – a dangerous psychoactive substance.

Officers found an entire industrial setup in a cottage behind the home of Spiby Senior, as well as a shipping container in Astley filled with millions of counterfeit pills. They also identified an industrial unit in Swinton bought by Spiby to expand the gang’s production.

In an attempt to mask the criminal operation, Drury had created a fake health supplements company complete with a website promoting industrial pill-making equipment.

Police intercepted a hire van leaving the Astley storage site in April 2022, recovering 2.6 million counterfeit diazepam tablets with a potential street value of up to £5.2 million. Further raids the following month uncovered firearms, ammunition, pill presses and raw materials.

GMP estimates the gang could have produced counterfeit tablets worth between £57 million and £288 million on the street.

Detective Inspector Alex Brown said: “These four individuals showed absolutely no regard for public safety. They operated a fully industrialised drug-manufacturing business capable of producing millions of tablets containing a highly dangerous substance.

“Alongside this was their link to the supply of deadly firearms. The combination posed a serious threat to communities across the UK.”

He added: “The sentences should serve as a clear warning – organised crime will not be tolerated. We will continue to dismantle these networks wherever they operate.”