Man caught with £14,000 of drugs avoids jail sentence

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 2 Nov, 17:38 · Archive

A man caught with heroin and cocaine worth £14,000 in a car containing a lamb has been spared imprisonment.

John McNeil, 56, a passenger in Lindsey Sangster's Volkswagen Golf, was stopped by police on the M74 near Glasgow on 22 April 2023. A police dog search uncovered bags containing heroin and cocaine hidden beneath the front passenger seat: £4,640 of cocaine and £10,050 of heroin. The vehicle also contained a lamb called Pablo, named after Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, which was eating chips from the back seat.

McNeil and Sangster were found guilty in September at Glasgow Sheriff Court of possessing heroin and diamorphine with intent to supply. Both claimed they had rescued Pablo after finding the animal in a 'dangerous position' in the middle of the road whilst travelling home to Ayrshire after a trip to Edinburgh. McNeil said the lamb appeared dehydrated and unfed, and they planned to return it to its owner after noticing identification markings on its ears. However, the court heard that Kirsty Mair, the owner of North Lanrigg Farm in Lanarkshire, had not permitted them to take the lamb.

Sheriff Tony Kelly sentenced McNeil to 300 hours of unpaid work and a six-month tag requiring him to stay indoors between 8pm and 5am. The sheriff stated that whilst the offences were grave enough to merit custody, he was stepping back from imposing imprisonment having regard to the age of the matters and McNeil's assessed low risk of reoffending.

How it is being reported

• Man caught in car with £14k of drugs as a lamb ate chips in the back seat avoids jailJohn McNeil has been sentenced to 300 hours of unpaid work after he was caught with cocaine and heroinThe Independent · 2 Nov, 17:22
• Man caught with £14,000 of drugs while lamb ate chips in back seat avoids jail(Picture: Police Scotland/Unpixs) A man caught in a car with £14,000-worth of drugs while a lamb munched on a bag of chips in the back seat has avoided jail. John McNeil, 56, was a passenger in Lindsey Sangster’s Volkswagen Golf, which was stopped by police on the M74 near Glasgow on 22 April…Metro · 2 Nov, 16:47

In this story: John McNeil · Lindsey Sangster · Kirsty Mair · Glasgow Sheriff Court · M74 · Glasgow

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