Chris Nesi
A Catholic priest in Austria was busted for operating a methamphetamine lab in his parish rectory in a scene reminiscent of the hit TV series “Breaking Bad.”
Police raided the rectory under orders of the local public prosecutor’s office, seizing chemicals for making illicit street drugs as well as laboratory equipment.
Authorities said the lab was in the early stages of production when they shut it down and that they believe the drugs were intended for sale, Catholic News Agency reported.
The 38-year-old unidentified priest — who belongs to the Archdiocese of Warsaw, Poland — admitted to producing the illicit street drug after his arrest.
Also arrested was a 30-year-old Iraqi citizen from Vienna.
The clergyman has served in the Austrian Diocese of St. Pölten since 2021.
Church officials told local media they had suspended the wayward priest and banned him from performing pastoral duties.
The home Warsaw Archdiocese told Austrian broadcaster ORF that “the diocesan authorities will soon take the necessary legal and canonical measures, in coordination with the diocese in Austria,” against him.
The unholy incident shares many parallels with the February arrest of Herbert Miller, 63, a Methodist pastor in Connecticut who authorities say dealt crystal meth out of his church’s parsonage.
Miller was allegedly peddling the drugs in exchange for watching gay couples engage in sexual activity, a local news outlet reported at the time, citing law enforcement.
