Man caught in car with £14k of drugs as a lamb ate chips in the back seat avoids jail

John McNeil, 56, narrowly avoided imprisonment after being found in a car containing £14,000 worth of heroin and cocaine, while a lamb munched on a bag of chips in the backseat. The incident unfolded on 22 April 2023 when police stopped a Volkswagen Golf on the M74 motorway near Glasgow. McNeil was a passenger in Lindsey Sangster’s vehicle at the time. A police dog discovered the drugs hidden beneath the front passenger seat, prompting a larger investigation.

The lamb, dubbed Pablo after the notorious Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, became a curious element of the case. McNeil told officers that Sangster was a “trainee shepherdess,” a claim made to explain why the animal was in the car. Both McNeil and Sangster were ultimately convicted in September for possession of heroin and diamorphine with intent to supply. However, the story of the lamb revealed additional details that raised eyebrows during the trial.

Court testimony revealed that Pablo actually belonged to North Lanrigg Farm in Motherwell, owned by farmer Kirsty Mair. Despite McNeil and Sangster’s assertions that they found Pablo in a perilous spot on the road and were attempting to protect him, Mair had not given them permission to take the lamb. The police seized drug paraphernalia including a glass pipe from the vehicle, and Sgt Nick Twigg recalled questioning the suspects about the lamb’s origin. He told jurors, “I asked Sangster where it [the lamb] came from and McNeil said that she was a trainee shepherdess.” When asked if there was any evidence supporting this, Twigg replied, “No, the lamb at the time was eating a bag of chips left on the back seat. There were no bottles.”

Further examinations by police dog Billy uncovered £4,640 of cocaine and £10,050 of heroin, with the cocaine purity no less than 76%. Authorities concluded that the large quantities found were inconsistent with personal use, suggesting supply intentions. During the trial, McNeil insisted he had no knowledge of the drugs and described having prior experience with animals, having grown up around farming through his father’s work as an agricultural contractor. He explained that they had come upon Pablo on the road during their journey home to Ayrshire after a trip to Edinburgh to purchase a car. McNeil said they planned to return the lamb to its owner, as it bore identification marks on its ears and appeared dehydrated.

Sangster admitted to being under the influence of drugs while driving, pleaded guilty separately, and was consequently disqualified from driving for 18 months and ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work. Defending McNeil at sentencing, lawyer Bronwyn Moore emphasized that he was “at the height of his addiction” at the time of his arrest, yet had since become a team leader at a construction company. McNeil was sentenced by Sheriff Tony Kelly to 300 hours of unpaid work and subjected to an electronic tag requiring him to stay indoors nightly between 8 pm and 5 am. The sheriff noted that the risk of McNeil reoffending was low.

Meanwhile, the lamb Pablo was taken to a farm in Ayrshire for 48 to 72 hours before being returned to its rightful owner, Kirsty Mair. She reported that Pablo was in good health and enjoying the company of his “new pet lamb pals.” Notably, a charge against McNeil related to “resetting” the lamb was dropped mid-trial due to the absence of any reported theft at the time. The unusual circumstances surrounding a lamb, drugs, and a road journey drew significant attention throughout the case, but ultimately led to penalties that did not include jail time for McNeil