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.
asserted
lamb → catch → 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.
asserted
which → stop → April
Officers were shocked to find a lamb tucking away at a bag of chips in the back seat.
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Officers → shock → seat
When quizzed about the animal, a sergeant claimed Sangster's then partner McNeil - told him that she was a 'trainee shepherdess.'
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she → quiz → him
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.
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they → claim → 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.
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explanation → recover → Golf
The two were later found guilty of possession of cocaine and and diamorphine with intent to supply.
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two → find → intent
The lamb belonged to North Lanrigg Farm in Motherwell, which is owned by farmer Kirsty Mair, the court previously heard.
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court → belong → Mair
Ms Mair had not given them permission to have the lamb, the court heard.
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court → give → lamb
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.
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McNeil → name → am
Sergeant Nick Twigg, 42, told jurors that he had reason to stop Sangster's car on the motorway at 6.10pm.
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he → tell → 6.10pm
An initial search found a glass pipe in the driver's door pocket while others were seized from McNeil and the woman.
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others → find → McNeil
Sgt Twigg said: 'There was a lamb found in the back of the car.
'
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Twigg → say → car
I asked Sangster where it came from and McNeil said that she was a trainee shepherdess.'
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she → ask → where
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.
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lamb → ask → seat
A police dog named Billy later found £4,640 of cocaine and £10,050 of heroin under the front passenger seat within two bags.
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dog → name → 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 2023
The purity of the cocaine was stated to be no less than 76 per cent.
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purity → stop → cocaine
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.
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it → take → Mair
A charge of resetting the lamb was dropped by the Crown mid-trial as there was 'no reported theft' at the time.
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charge → reset → 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.
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who → tell → father
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.
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man → state → car
McNeil claimed that Pablo was 'dehydrated' and appeared not to have been fed for a couple of hours.
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Pablo → claim → hours
He told the court that the plan was to 'take him back to the owner' as Pablo had identity markings on his ears.
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Pablo → tell → ears
McNeil denied any knowledge of the drugs in the car, as did Sangster.
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Sangster → deny → car
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.
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she → tell → proceedings
She was disqualified from driving for 18 months and ordered to do 100 hours of unpaid work.
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She → disqualify → 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.
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he → defend → addiction
After the lamb was returned to Mair, she said he was in fine health and happy with 'his new pet lamb pals'.
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he → return → pals
The Aporia
