rug Convict Avoids Prison After Police Find £14,000 Worth of Drugs and a Lamb Named Pablo Escobar in His Car

A bizarre police stop on a Scottish motorway has ended with a convicted drug offender avoiding prison — after officers discovered something almost as unexpected as the drugs hidden inside the vehicle: a tiny lamb sitting in the back seat, happily eating a bag of crisps. The animal, later named Pablo after notorious Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, became an unusual part of a criminal case that has attracted widespread attention.

The incident happened on April 22, 2023, when police stopped a Volkswagen Golf travelling along the M74 motorway near Glasgow. The vehicle was being driven by 41-year-old Lindsey Sangster, with her then-partner, 56-year-old John McNeil, sitting in the passenger seat. Another man was also in the car. During the stop, officers noticed the lamb in the back. When questioned about its presence, McNeil reportedly told police that Sangster was a trainee shepherdess. However, officers became suspicious and decided to carry out a more thorough search.

A police sniffer dog named Billy was brought in to examine the vehicle. The dog discovered two bags hidden underneath the front passenger seat containing cocaine worth approximately £4,640 and heroin worth around £10,050. The combined value of the drugs was approximately £14,690. Officers also found drug-related paraphernalia during the search. The discovery led to a major investigation, and both McNeil and Sangster were eventually convicted of possessing cocaine and heroin with intent to supply.

The story of the lamb was just as unusual. McNeil claimed that he and Sangster had found the animal standing in a dangerous position in the middle of the road and had taken it into the car because it appeared dehydrated and unfed. He said they intended to return it to its owner. However, police later established that the lamb belonged to Kirsty Mair, a farmer at North Lanrigg Farm in Motherwell, Lanarkshire. She had not given permission for anyone to take the animal. The lamb was temporarily cared for at a farm in Ayrshire before being safely returned to its owner. A separate charge relating to the lamb was dropped during the trial.

In September 2026, a jury found McNeil and Sangster guilty of possessing cocaine and heroin with intent to supply. McNeil returned to Glasgow Sheriff Court on November 2 for sentencing. Despite the seriousness of the offences and his previous convictions, Sheriff Tony Kelly decided against sending him to prison. Instead, McNeil was ordered to complete 300 hours of unpaid community work and wear an electronic monitoring tag for six months, with a nightly curfew requiring him to remain indoors between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. The sheriff cited the age of the offences and McNeil’s assessed low risk of reoffending when explaining the decision.

Sangster did not attend her sentencing hearing, and a warrant was issued for her arrest. She had separately pleaded guilty to drug-impaired driving and received an 18-month driving ban and 100 hours of unpaid work. Meanwhile, Pablo is safely back with his owner and has reportedly settled in alongside other young lambs on the farm. What began as an ordinary motorway stop has become an extraordinary story involving drug trafficking, an unexpected animal passenger and a court decision that allowed one of the convicted offenders to avoid immediate imprisonment.

Source: https://people.com/man-avoids-jail-time-after-being-caught-with-drugs-and-lamb-named-after-pablo-escobar-12224638