Metropolitan Hilarion, former head of the Department for External Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church, was detained in the Czech Republic for possession of prohibited substances.

Metropolitan Ilarion (Grigorie Alfeev), former head of the Department for External Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church, was detained on Sunday in the Czech Republic after police discovered four containers with a white substance in the trunk of his car. Ilarion, who holds Hungarian citizenship, denies any connection to drug trafficking and calls for an independent investigation.

Recently, he was transferred to the church in Karlovy Vary, considered a place of interest for Russian intelligence services. His lawyer, Michal Pacowski, raised doubts about the legality of the stop and search, stating that the police seemed to know where to look. Ilarion has been under pressure in the Czech Republic, and local publications suggest that he could be included on the Czech sanctions list due to his connections with Russian intelligence services. He is also under sanctions from Ukraine for supporting aggressive policies.