A lamb became a social media sensation when it featured in reports of a drugs bust after a police officer told a court the animal was found in the back of a car eating chips
A lamb called Pablo was sat eating crisps in the back of a car busted by cops in 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 found bags of cocaine and heroine under the front passenger seat of the motor. When quizzed about the farmyard animal in the car, Sangster told a police sergeant she was a “trainee shepherdess.”
Prosecutor Julianna Keenan asked the officer if there was evidence of this and he replied: “No, the lamb at the time was eating a bag of chips left on the back seat. There were no bottles.”
It was also stated that they had tried to save the lamb – named after the Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar – from a “dangerous position” on the middle of the road.
The court previously heard Pablo belonged to North Lanrigg Farm in Motherwell, which is owned by farmer Kirsty Mair. A minute of agreed evidence said Mair had not given them permission to have the lamb.
After the lamb was returned to Mair, she said he was in fine health and happy with “his new pet lamb pals”, the BBC reported.
Pablo was taken to a farm in Ayrshire where it was held for 48 to 72 hours before being returned to Mair, it was heard. A charge of resetting the lamb was dropped by the Crown mid-trial as there was “no reported theft” at the time.
McNeil told jurors in he had experience with animals, having worked in the past with his father, who is a retired agricultural contractor, and said they came across Pablo on the middle of the road.
He claimed that Pablo was “dehydrated” and appeared not have been fed for a couple of hours. He told the court that the plan was to “take him back to the owner” as Pablo had identity markings on his ears.
A police dog later found £4,640 of cocaine and £10,050 of heroin under the front passenger seat within two bags. The purity of the cocaine was stated to be no less than 76%.
McNeil denied any knowledge of the drugs in the car, as did Sangster. The duo were found guilty in September of possession of heroin and diamorphine with intent to supply.
Sheriff Tony Kelly ordered McNeil to do 300 hours of unpaid work and tagged him for six months, meaning he must stay indoors between 8pm and 5am.
Sangster, who was under the influence of drugs while she was behind the wheel, was banned from driving for 18 months and ordered to do 100 hours of unpaid work.
Social media users dubbed the animal “Pablo Escobaa” after the court case was reported. One wag quipped: “Mary had a little gram.” Another replied: “Its nose was white as snow.”
Another joked: “Breaking Baaad.” A fourth said: “Yes sir, yes sir, three baggies full.” Someone else joked: “Presumably it was there in case anyone wanted to buy a joint.”
One X user joked: “Police said they’d pulled the man over as he’d looked sheepish.”