A Spanish priest has been sidelined by the Roman Catholic Church after he was busted by the Civil Guard’s organized-crime unit for allegedly selling Viagra and other “aphrodisiac substances” out of his home.
Identified in local reports as a long-time parish priest from the small town of Don Benito, he is now receiving “psychological and spiritual” help during his temporary suspension, the diocese of Plasencia announced in a statement on Thursday, adding that it was “dismayed” by the “scandal” swirling around the case.
Known as Don Alfonso, the priest was detained Monday but later provisionally released, while a second man who was arrested—described in local reports as Don Alfonso’s boyfriend—has remained in custody. According to El Mundo, Don Alfonso was monitored by the Civil Guard’s Organized-Crime and Anti-Drug Unit for months before cops finally swooped in and arrested him.
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Authorities claim he and the second man had been receiving deliveries of Viagra from other European countries and then selling it out of a rented apartment in Don Benito.
Jesús Carretero, a lawyer for the priest, has disputed the allegations, telling the newspaper that Don Alfonso had “no knowledge” of any drug trafficking and “there is no evidence that incriminates him.”