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Man avoids jail over £14,000 drugs as stolen lamb is found in car
Developed over time first seen 2 hours ago
John McNeil, 56, avoided prison after being convicted of possessing heroin and cocaine with intent to supply, following a police stop on the M74 in Glasgow. The case also drew attention for the lamb, Pablo, found in the car eating chips; the court heard its owner had not given permission for it to be taken.
McNeil was a passenger in Lindsey Sangster’s Volkswagen Golf when police stopped it on 22 April 2023. A police dog found drugs beneath the front passenger seat, valued at £14,000; McNeil and Sangster denied knowing they were there and were found guilty in September. McNeil was ordered to complete 300 hours of unpaid work and wear an electronic tag for six months, while a warrant was issued for Sangster after she failed to attend sentencing. Pablo has been returned to farmer Kirsty Mair and is said to be well.
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In short
- McNeil avoided jail for drug supply offences.
- He was ordered to complete 300 hours of unpaid work.
- Lamb Pablo was returned to its owner.
How this story developed
- 50 minutes ago John McNeil, 56, avoided prison after being convicted of possessing heroin and cocaine with intent to supply, following a police stop on the M74 in Glasgow.
Full account
A man found in a car carrying drugs valued at nearly £14,700 has avoided prison after a case in which a lamb was also discovered eating chips on the back seat. John McNeil, 56, was a passenger in Lindsey Sangster’s Volkswagen Golf when police stopped it on the M74 in Glasgow on the evening of 22 April 2023. A police dog later found bags of cocaine and heroin beneath the front passenger seat. McNeil and Sangster were convicted at Glasgow Sheriff Court in September of possessing the drugs with intent to supply. Both had denied knowing the drugs were in the car.
The lamb, called Pablo, belonged to farmer Kirsty Mair of North Lanrigg Farm in Motherwell. Evidence agreed at trial established that she had not given the pair permission to take it. Sergeant Nick Twigg told the jury that, when he asked where the lamb had come from, McNeil said Sangster, then his partner, was training to be a shepherdess. The pair said they had picked up the animal after finding it in a dangerous position on the road. The officer recalled seeing it eating chips in the back of the car.
A police dog found two bags beneath McNeil’s seat. One report puts the estimated value of the cocaine at £4,640 and the heroin at £10,050, a combined £14,690. The lamb was subsequently returned to Ms Mair and was reported to be well. During the trial, the Crown dropped a separate charge concerning the lamb because no theft had been reported at the time. The drugs convictions therefore did not amount to a finding that either defendant had stolen it.
McNeil, of Fairlie in Ayrshire, returned to court for sentencing. Sheriff Tony Kelly ordered him to complete 300 hours of unpaid work and wear an electronic tag for six months. The sheriff cited the time that had passed since the offences and the absence of further criminal matters before the court when deciding against a custodial sentence. Sangster, of Kilbirnie in Ayrshire, did not attend the sentencing hearing, and a warrant was issued for her arrest.
Where outlets differ
From the full account, which is AI-written from the sources:
The first report rounds the drugs’ value to £14,000; the second gives separate estimates totalling £14,690 and says the cocaine was at least 76% pure.
The second report adds that McNeil’s electronic curfew runs from 8pm to 5am, that the sheriff had been told his risk of reoffending was low, and that the charge concerning the lamb was dropped during the trial. The first report gives more emphasis to the sheriff’s explanation for avoiding custody.
The reports vary in how they describe the drugs, using ‘heroin’ and ‘diamorphine’ in different places. They also attribute the account of finding the lamb on the road slightly differently: the first to McNeil and the second to the pair.
Explained simply
Possessing drugs with intent to supply means having them with the aim of passing them on to others, rather than simply having them for personal use. In Scotland, courts consider the offence and the circumstances when deciding a sentence.
John McNeil was a passenger in a car driven by Lindsey Sangster when police stopped it on the M74. A police dog found heroin and cocaine under the passenger seat; both occupants denied knowing the drugs were there and were convicted.
The case also involved Pablo, a lamb whose owner, farmer Kirsty Mair, had not agreed to his being taken. He was found in the car and later returned to Mair, bringing an animal-theft issue alongside the drugs case.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Spared jail, man caught in car with £14k drugs… and a lamb called Pablo eating chips”.