Drug Bust Includes One Lamb and a Side of Chips

Pablo the lamb was sitting in the back of a Volkswagen Golf eating a poke of chips when police discovered nearly £14,000 of heroin and cocaine under the front passenger seat. Of all those present, Pablo appears to have handled the traffic stop most calmly.

The Golf, driven by Lindsey Sangster, 41, was stopped on Glasgow’s M74 at 6.10pm on April 22, 2023. John McNeil, 56, was in the front passenger seat and another man was in the back with Pablo, who had been named after the Colombian drug lord.

Sergeant Nick Twigg told Glasgow Sheriff Court that McNeil explained the lamb’s presence by saying Sangster was a “trainee shepherdess.” Asked whether there was any evidence of this, the officer replied: “No, the lamb at the time was eating a bag of chips left on the back seat. There were no bottles.”

Police initially found a glass pipe in the driver’s door, with others seized from McNeil and the rear passenger. Sangster appeared nervous, moving her hands, looking ahead and darting her eyes sideways, while McNeil moved his hands frequently and answered questions for her. When the pair got out, they began “scrapping” with each other. Sangster was handcuffed and the car taken to a Glasgow police station.

There, police dog Billy found two bags beneath McNeil’s seat containing cocaine worth £4,640 and heroin worth £10,050. The cocaine was at least 76% pure, and officers said the quantities were excessive for personal use and indicated supply.

McNeil and Sangster said they knew nothing about the drugs. They claimed they had found Pablo in a dangerous position in the middle of the road while returning to Ayrshire after travelling to Edinburgh so the other man could buy a car. McNeil, who had previously worked with his retired agricultural-contractor father, said the lamb looked dehydrated and had apparently not eaten for several hours. The chips soon put paid to that problem.

Their plan, he said, was to return Pablo using the identity markings in his ears. But the lamb belonged to farmer Kirsty Mair at North Lanrigg Farm in Motherwell, and agreed evidence stated: “Ms Mair did not give permission for them to have said lamb.” A charge of resetting the animal was dropped during the trial because no theft had been reported at the time.

Pablo spent between 48 and 72 hours at an Ayrshire farm before being returned home. Sangster and McNeil were convicted in September of possessing cocaine and diamorphine with intent to supply. Sangster had also admitted driving under the influence of drugs in separate proceedings, receiving an 18-month ban and 100 hours of unpaid work.

McNeil, from Fairlie, returned to court on Monday for sentencing. Sangster, from Kilbirnie, failed to appear and a warrant was issued for her arrest.

Sheriff Tony Kelly said the offences were serious enough for prison but stepped back from custody because of their age and McNeil’s low assessed risk of reoffending. McNeil, now a construction-company team leader, was ordered to complete 300 hours of unpaid work and wear a tag for six months, with a curfew from 8pm to 5am.

His lawyer said he had been living an “extremely chaotic lifestyle fuelled by drug misuse” and was then at the height of his addiction.

Ms Mair later confirmed Pablo was fine and living with new lamb companions. Her conclusion was practical: “If you want to be inconspicuous, don’t steal a lamb and have it in the back of a car going down the motorway.”