Man caught in car with £14,000 of cocaine and heroin as a lamb named Pablo ate chips on the back seat avoids jail

A man who was caught in a car with £14,000 of cocaine and heroin while a lamb named Pablo ate from a bag of chips in the back seat 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. Officers were shocked to find a lamb tucking away at a bag of chips in the back seat. When quizzed about the animal, a sergeant claimed Sangster's then partner McNeil - told him that she was a 'trainee shepherdess.'The pair had claimed that they had tried to save the lamb, named after the Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, from a 'dangerous position' on the middle of the road. Bags of heroin and cocaine were later recovered by a police dog underneath the front passenger seat of the Volkswagen Golf after their explanation seemed unlikely. The two were later found guilty of possession of cocaine and and diamorphine with intent to supply. The lamb belonged to North Lanrigg Farm in Motherwell, which is owned by farmer Kirsty Mair, the court previously heard.Ms Mair had not given them permission to have the lamb, the court heard. The lamb, named after drug lord Pablo Escobar, was found on the backseat of the car eating chips McNeil, of Fairlie, North Ayrshire, was back in the dock today to be sentenced while Sangster, of Kilbirnie, did not appear and a warrant was granted for her arrest. McNeil avoided jail but Sheriff Tony Kelly ordered him to do 300 hours of unpaid work and tagged him for six months keeping him indoors between 8pm and 5am. The sheriff said he had been advised the risk of McNeil offending again was low. Sergeant Nick Twigg, 42, told jurors that he had reason to stop Sangster's car on the motorway at 6.10pm. An initial search found a glass pipe in the driver's door pocket while others were seized from McNeil and the woman. 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 officer 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.' A police dog named Billy later found £4,640 of cocaine and £10,050 of heroin under the front passenger seat within two bags. 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 2023The purity of the cocaine was stated to be no less than 76 per cent.Pablo the lamb was taken to a farm in Ayrshire where it was held for 48 to 72 hours before being 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 had experience with animals, having worked in the past with his father, who is a retired agricultural contractor.He stated 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 to 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. 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 her client was now a team leader at a construction company and that he was 'at the height of his addiction' when arrested. After the lamb was returned to Mair, she said he was in fine health and happy with 'his new pet lamb pals'.