Community sentence in Scottish drugs case involving a lamb in a car

A Scottish court has imposed unpaid work and electronic monitoring, rather than prison, on a man convicted after drugs were found in a car carrying a lamb. The published report's November 12 account and an published reporting report published on November 2 describe sentencing arising from a Glasgow motorway stop in April 2023. It is not a new drugs seizure this week.

John McNeil, 56, was travelling in Lindsey Sangster's car when police stopped it on the M74. A police dog found cocaine valued at £4,640 and heroin valued at £10,050 beneath the front passenger seat. A lamb called Pablo was in the back, eating from a packet of chips. Both defendants denied knowing about the drugs but were convicted in September of possession with intent to supply, according to the reports.

The sentence was not an acquittal

Sheriff Tony Kelly ordered McNeil to complete 300 hours of unpaid work and wear an electronic tag for six months, staying home between 8pm and 5am. The sheriff took account of the age of the case and an assessment that his risk of reoffending was low. His lawyer said he was now a construction-company team leader and had been struggling with drug addiction at the time. Avoiding prison does not remove the conviction.

Sangster had separately admitted driving under the influence of drugs and received an 18-month driving ban and 100 hours of unpaid work. Published reporting indicates that she did not attend the later sentencing hearing and an arrest warrant was issued. That warrant and McNeil's community sentence concern different defendants and should not be confused.

The lamb was returned to its owner

The defendants said they had taken the lamb from a dangerous position on the road to help it. The court heard that its farm owner had not authorised them to take it. A lamb-theft allegation was dropped during the trial; the published report says no theft complaint had been recorded at the time. Pablo spent 48 to 72 hours at a farm before being returned to its owner, who later said it was healthy and with other lambs. The animal's recovery did not determine the separate drug convictions.