Man caught in car with lamb in back seat eating chips during £14,000 drugs bust

A man found in the same car as a lamb named Pablo, who was eating a poke of chips in the back seat, during a £14,000 drugs bust has avoided jail.

John McNeil, 56, was a passenger in Lindsey Sangster’s vehicle, which was stopped by police on the M74 motorway in Glasgow on the evening of April 22, 2023.

Bags of heroin and cocaine was later recovered by a police dog underneath the front passenger seat of the Volkswagen Golf.

When quizzed about the animal, a sergeant claimed Sangster’s then-partner, McNeil, told him that she was a “trainee shepherdess.”

It was also stated that they had tried to save the lamb – named after the Colombian drug lord – from a “dangerous position” on the middle of the road.

Sangster, 41, and McNeil were found guilty in September at Glasgow Sheriff Court to possession of heroin and diamorphine with intent to supply.

McNeil, of Fairlie, North Ayrshire, was back in the dock on Monday to be sentenced, while Sangster, of Kilbirnie, did not appear, and a warrant was granted for her arrest.

Sheriff Tony Kelly ordered McNeil to do 300 hours of unpaid work and tagged him for six months keeping him indoors 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.

“I am told that your risk of re-offending has been assessed as low.

“This community payback order is to mark the court’s disapproval and the repugnant offence.”

The court previously heard that Pablo belonged to North Lanrigg Farm in Motherwell, Lanarkshire, which is owned by farmer Kirsty Mair.

A joint minute of agreed evidence said: “Ms Mair did not give permission for them to have said lamb.”

Sergeant Nick Twigg, 42, told jurors that he had reason to stop Sangster’s car on the motorway at 6.10pm.

Sangster and McNeil were in the front while a man was sat in the back.

An initial search found a glass pipe in the driver’s door pocket while others were seized from McNeil and the man.

Sgt Twigg said: “There was a lamb found in the back of the car.

“I asked Sangster where it came from and McNeil said that she was a trainee shepherdess.”

Prosecutor Julianna Keenan asked the witness if there was evidence of this and he replied: “No, the lamb at the time was eating a bag of chips left on the back seat. There were no bottles.”

Sgt Twigg stated that Sangster came across as “nervous” at the time “moving her hand and touching her body.”

He said: “She kept on looking ahead when talking to me and darting her eyes to the side.”

The witness added that McNeil was moving his hands around a lot and answered Sangster’s questions for her.

Sgt Twigg told the court that when Sangster and McNeil exited the car they started “scrapping” with each other.

Sangster was then put in handcuffs and the car was taken to a police station in Glasgow for a search.

A police dog named Billy found £4,640 of cocaine and £10,050 of heroin under the front passenger seat within two bags.

The purity of the cocaine was stated to be no less than 76%.

In a joint minute of agreed evidence, Ms Keenan said: “Officers were of the opinion that the circumstances of this case indicate the supply of cocaine and heroin due to the amount recovered being excessive for personal use.”

Pablo was taken to a farm in Ayrshire, where he was held for 48 to 72 hours before he was returned to Ms Mair.

A charge of resetting the lamb was dropped by the Crown mid-trial as there was “no reported theft” at the time.

McNeil told jurors in his evidence that he has experience with animals, having worked in the past with his father who is a retired agricultural contractor.

He stated that they came across Pablo on the middle of the road on the way home to Ayrshire after a journey to Edinburgh for the other man to purchase a car.

McNeil claimed that Pablo was “dehydrated” and appeared not have been fed for a couple of hours.

He told the court that the plan was to “take him back to the owner” as Pablo had identity markings on his ears.

McNeil denied any knowledge of the drugs in the car as did Sangster in her evidence.

David McCaig, defending McNeil, asked Sangster: “Did my client take responsibility for the decision to assist the lamb from the dangerous position it was in?”

Sangster replied: “Yes.”

Jurors were told that Sangster was under the influence of drugs at the time when she was behind the wheel and pleaded guilty at separate proceedings.

She was disqualified from driving for 18 months and ordered to do 100 hours of unpaid work.

Bronwyn Moore, defending McNeil at the sentencing, said that her client is now a team leader at a construction company.

The lawyer added: “He accepts at the time he was living an extremely chaotic lifestyle fuelled by drug misuse.

“He accepts and is candid that he was at the height of his addiction and was associating with a number of like-minded people.

“He accepts that being involved in that type of lifestyle has led to the situation he is in and accepts the verdict of the jury.”

Speaking after Pablo was returned to Ms Mair, she said: “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 and wouldn’t it have been a great April Fool’s prank had it not been true.”