Man accused of giving Liam Payne drugs before his death arrested in Argentina

A man accused of supplying drugs to Liam Payne, a former member of the band One Direction who fell to his death in Argentina last year, has been arrested.

Braian Paiz, 24, was arrested by Argentinian police Friday and is alleged to be one of two people who supplied Payne with cocaine in the days before his death.

He is one of five people charged earlier this week in connection with Payne’s death and one of two who were ordered a form of pre-trial detention by a judge.

Of the five people charged, three are facing charges of manslaughter, including a businessman who was with Payne in Argentina and two managers of the hotel.

A news release from the prosecutor’s office says the two hotel managers saw Payne intoxicated in the hotel lobby and unable to stand, but allowed him to go up to his third-floor hotel room instead of keeping an eye on him until medical help arrived.

Paiz, a restaurant waiter, and another unnamed person, who prosecutors say was an employee of the hotel where Payne stayed until he died falling from the balcony of his room, are charged with supplying drugs.

Paiz’ lawyer confirmed to CBS News Friday that he had been detained.

In November, prosecutors filed initial charges against three people, but they didn’t reveal their names.

Trending Now

Payne fell from his room’s balcony in the upscale neighbourhood of Palermo in the Argentine capital. His autopsy said he died from multiple injuries and external bleeding.

Prosecutors also said that Payne’s toxicological exams showed that his body had “traces of alcohol, cocaine and a prescribed antidepressant” in the moments before his death.

Payne’s autopsy showed his injuries were caused neither by self-harm nor by physical intervention of others. The document also said that he did not have the reflex of protecting himself in the fall, which suggests he might have been unconscious.

Prosecutors in Argentina also ruled out the possibility that Payne died by suicide.