A deacon at a monastery in Russia's Samara region was arrested while attempting to deliver 50 grams of heroin to a local prison colony, Vesti.ru news website reported Wednesday.
The priest, whose name was not disclosed, was under the influence of drugs himself at the time of his arrest, the report said.
He confessed to smuggling 150-200 grams of heroin to the penitentiary every week for the last month, arriving by taxi at a certain spot and throwing packages containing the drugs over the fence.
The priest joined the monastery in 2009. In 2014 he quit his job and started using drugs, Vesti.ru reported.
In 2015 he returned to the monastery and shortly after received an offer from an unidentified individual — who reportedly also introduced himself as a priest — to start delivering drugs to the prison colony in exchange for money and heroin fixes.