A lamb named Pablo was found eating chips in the back of a car during a drugs bust, a court heard. John McNeil, 56, was a passenger in Lindsey Sangster's VW Golf on the M74 in Glasgow in April 2023.
Police find drugs and lamb
A police sniffer dog found bags of cocaine and heroin under the front passenger seat of the vehicle. When questioned about the lamb in the car, Sangster told a police sergeant 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."
Lamb's origin and return
It was also stated 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. The court heard Pablo belonged to North Lanrigg Farm in Motherwell, owned by farmer Kirsty Mair. A minute of agreed evidence said Mair had not given them permission to have the lamb.
After Pablo was returned to Mair, she said he was in fine health and happy with "his new pet lamb pals", the BBC reported. Pablo was taken to a farm in Ayrshire where it was held for 48 to 72 hours before being returned to Mair. A charge of resetting the lamb was dropped by the Crown mid-trial as there was "no reported theft" at the time.
Court outcome and social media reaction
McNeil told jurors he had experience with animals, having worked with his father, a retired agricultural contractor, and said they came across Pablo on the middle of the road. He claimed Pablo was "dehydrated" and appeared not to have been fed for a couple of hours, and the plan was to "take him back to the owner" as Pablo had identity markings on his ears.
A police dog later 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%. McNeil denied any knowledge of the drugs in the car, as did Sangster. The duo were found guilty in September of possession of heroin and diamorphine with intent to supply.
Sheriff Tony Kelly ordered McNeil to do 300 hours of unpaid work and tagged him for six months, meaning he must stay indoors between 8pm and 5am. Sangster, who was under the influence of drugs while driving, was banned from driving for 18 months and ordered to do 100 hours of unpaid work.
Social media users dubbed the animal "Pablo Escobaa" after the court case was reported. One wag quipped: "Mary had a little gram." Another replied: "Its nose was white as snow." Another joked: "Breaking Baaad." A fourth said: "Yes sir, yes sir, three baggies full." Someone else joked: "Presumably it was there in case anyone wanted to buy a joint." One X user joked: "Police said they'd pulled the man over as he'd looked sheepish."
