Drug trafficker caught with £14k of narcotics avoids jail after lamb Pablo spotted in car
John McNeil, 56, was convicted of possessing cocaine and heroin with intent to supply after police stopped a car on the M74 with a lamb in the back seat.
Lamb named after Colombian drug lord leads police to £14,000 drugs haul on M74
A drug trafficker has avoided a custodial sentence after police on the M74 motorway in Glasgow were drawn to stop a vehicle by an unusual passenger: a lamb named Pablo — after the Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar — eating crisps in the back seat.
The Sun reports that John McNeil, 56, of Fairlie, North Ayrshire, was a passenger in a Volkswagen Golf driven by Lindsey Sangster, 41, of Kilbirnie, when Sergeant Nick Twigg stopped the car at 6.10pm on 22 April 2023. A third man was seated in the rear alongside the animal.
A subsequent search by police dog Billy recovered £4,640 of cocaine — at a purity of no less than 76% — and £10,050 of heroin, both concealed within two bags beneath the front passenger seat.
"Trainee shepherdess" explanation rejected by jury
When Sgt Twigg asked where the lamb had come from, McNeil told him that Sangster was a "trainee shepherdess." He also claimed they had rescued Pablo from a dangerous position in the middle of the road while returning from Edinburgh, where a companion had been purchasing a car.
Sgt Twigg told the court the lamb "was eating a bag of chips left on the back seat" and that there was no evidence to support the shepherdess account. He described Sangster as appearing "nervous," repeatedly looking ahead and darting her eyes to the side, while McNeil answered questions on her behalf and moved his hands frequently. As the pair exited the vehicle, the two began "scrapping" with each other. Sangster was handcuffed and the car was driven to a Glasgow police station for a full search.
McNeil maintained in his evidence that he had experience with livestock through his father, a retired agricultural contractor. He said Pablo appeared dehydrated and unfed, and that the plan was to return the animal to its owner, given the identity markings on its ears. Both McNeil and Sangster denied any knowledge of the drugs.
Convicted at Glasgow Sheriff Court
McNeil and Sangster were found guilty in September at Glasgow Sheriff Court of possession of heroin and diamorphine with intent to supply. Prosecutor Julianna Keenan told the court that officers considered the quantities recovered "excessive for personal use" and indicative of supply.
The lamb, it emerged, belonged to North Lanrigg Farm in Motherwell, Lanarkshire, owned by farmer Kirsty Mair. A joint minute of agreed evidence confirmed Miss Mair had not given permission for them to take the animal. A charge of resetting the lamb was dropped by the Crown mid-trial after it emerged there had been "no reported theft" at the time. Pablo was held at a farm in Ayrshire for 48 to 72 hours before being returned to Miss Mair.
Sangster, whose case was dealt with in separate proceedings, had pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of drugs. She was disqualified from driving for 18 months and ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work.
McNeil sentenced to community payback order
McNeil appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court for sentencing. Sangster did not appear and a warrant was issued for her arrest.
Sheriff Tony Kelly ordered McNeil to complete 300 hours of unpaid work and imposed an electronic tag for six months, confining him to his home between 8pm and 5am.
The sheriff said: "You have been subject of a number of previous convictions and you understand that these offences are grave enough to merit custody. I will step back from imposing custody having regard to the age of these matters and there is nothing arising for criminal offences for you to be dealt with."
Sheriff Kelly added that McNeil's risk of re-offending had been assessed as low, describing the community payback order as marking "the court's disapproval and the repugnant offence."
Defence solicitor Bronwyn Moore told the court her client is now a team leader at a construction company. She said McNeil "accepts at the time he was living an extremely chaotic lifestyle fuelled by drug misuse" and was "at the height of his addiction" when the offences were committed.
Farmer's response
Speaking after Pablo was returned to her care, Miss Mair offered a dry assessment of proceedings: "Moral of the story, maybe it pays to tag lambs early, or maybe it is a lesson to drug dealers — if you want to be inconspicuous, don't steal a lamb and have it in the back of a car going down the motorway. Anyway, Pablo is fine, in with his new pet lamb pals. You literally couldn't make it up."
Source: The Sun