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A lamb called Pablo was found in the back of a car stopped by police during a £14,690 cocaine and heroin bust on the M74 in Glasgow, a court heard.
A lamb called Pablo was found eating chips in the back seat of a vehicle stopped by officers 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.
A police sniffer dog discovered bags of cocaine and heroin under the front passenger seat of the car. When asked about the farm animal in the vehicle, Sangster informed a police officer that it was a “stage shepherd”.
Prosecutor Julianna Keenan asked the officer if there was any evidence to support that claim, to which he replied: “No, the lamb was eating a bag of chips at the time that was left in the back seat. There were no bottles.”
It was further said that the pair had been trying to rescue the lamb – named after Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar – from a “dangerous position” in the middle of the road.
The court was previously told that Pablo belonged to North Lanrigg Farm in Motherwell, owned by farmer Kirsty Mair. A minute of agreed evidence confirmed that Mair did not give them permission to take the lamb, the Daily Star reports.
Glasgow Sheriff Court(Image: PA)
After Pablo was reunited with Mair, she reported that he was in good health and happy with “his new pet lamb,” according to the BBC.
Pablo was taken to a farm in Ayrshire where he was held for 48 to 72 hours before being returned to Mair. A charge of returning the lamb was dropped by the Crown during the trial because there was “no reported theft” at the time.
McNeil informed jurors that he has experience handling animals, previously working alongside his father, a retired agricultural contractor, and said they discovered Pablo in the middle of the road.
He claimed Pablo was “dehydrated” and appeared not to have been fed for several hours. He told the court that the intention was to “take him back to the owner” because Pablo had identity markings on his ears.
Packages of drugs were found in the vehicle(Image: Getty Images)
A police dog subsequently discovered £4,640 worth of cocaine and £10,050 worth of heroin under the front passenger seat, in two bags. The purity of the cocaine was confirmed to be no less than 76%.
McNeil denied any knowledge of the drugs in the vehicle, as did Sangster. The pair were found guilty in September of supplying heroin and diamorphine with intent.
Sheriff Tony Kelly ordered McNeil to complete 300 hours of unpaid work and put him on a tag for six months, requiring him to stay inside between 8pm and 5am.
Sangster, who was under the influence of drugs at the wheel, was banned from driving for 18 months and given 100 hours of unpaid work.
The drugs were worth £14k(Image: Getty Images)
Social media users named the animal “Pablo Escobaa” after coverage of the court case. One wagon nodded: “Maria had a small gram.”
Another replied, “His nose was white as snow.”
Another joked: “Breaking Baaad.”
A fourth said, “Yes sir, yes sir, three baggies full.”
Another joked: “Probably it was there in case anyone wanted to buy a joint.”
One X user joked: “The police said they pulled the man over because he looked sheepish.”
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