A young sheep was nonchalantly sitting at the back of a Volkswagen Golf, licking its lips while munching away on a packet of chips as the Scottish police stopped the vehicle on the M74 motorway. As what initially seemed to be just a regular traffic stop on April 22, 2023 turned out to be a very peculiar drug seizure.
Sergeant Nick Twigg stopped the vehicle around 6:10 p.m. Inside sat driver Lindsey Sangster, then in her late 30s, front-seat passenger John McNeil, and a third man. In the rear: the lamb, later named Pablo after Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, contentedly eating crisps.
When asked about the animal, McNeil told the officer Sangster was a “trainee shepherdess.” Court evidence later showed the lamb was simply eating chips left on the seat, with no supporting gear. A glass pipe turned up in the initial search. Police dog Billy then indicated on the car and located two bags under the front passenger seat containing cocaine valued at £4,640 (purity no less than 76%) and heroin valued at £10,050. Total: £14,690. Officers viewed the quantity as far beyond personal use.
The pair claimed they had rescued the lamb from a “dangerous position” in the middle of the road while heading home to Ayrshire after a trip to Edinburgh and planned to return it using its ear tags. Agreed evidence at trial established that owner Kirsty Mair of North Lanrigg Farm near Motherwell had given no permission for them to take it. A related charge was dropped mid-trial because no theft had been reported at the time. Pablo was temporarily cared for, then safely returned. Mair later confirmed the lamb was healthy and settled with other pet lambs.
Sangster and McNeil were convicted in September 2026 at Glasgow Sheriff Court of possessing cocaine and diamorphine with intent to supply. Both denied knowing about the drugs. Sangster had already pleaded guilty separately to drug-driving, receiving an 18-month ban and 100 hours of unpaid work.
The hearing took place on November 2, 2026, when McNeil, who was 56 years old and at that time worked as a team leader for a construction company, was sentenced by Sheriff Tony Kelly. Defense stressed that at that moment, McNeil was “at the height of his addiction.” Kelly sentenced him to 300 hours of community service and six months of electronic monitoring with a curfew of 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Kelly stated that while the crimes committed were severe enough to justify imprisonment considering McNeil’s previous record, the age of the crime and low risk of future offending on the part of McNeil led Kelly not to imprison him.
