Buenos Aires, Argentina: One of the suspects being investigated over Liam Payne’s death has insisted he did not supply the pop star with drugs or accept any money from him.
Braian Nahuel Paiz, an Argentinian waiter, appeared on local TV on Saturday (9 November) where he made a number of claims about the time he allegedly spent with the former One Direction singer.
Paiz, who is suspected of being Payne’s “dealer” in an ongoing probe by local authorities, claimed he met the “Strip That Down” singer, 31, in his hotel twice before he fell to his death from the third-floor balcony of his hotel room on 16 October.
The 24-year-old said he met Payne for the first time at the restaurant where he worked, later exchanging contact details while the pop star dined with friends.
Speaking to journalist Guillermo Panizza for Telefe Noticias, Paiz claimed that his home had been searched but that he had yet to be questioned by investigators.
“I never supplied Liam with drugs,” he said, according to the translated interview. “Liam’s first contact with me was at my place of work.
“We swapped details and saw each other later that night. It was all normal. He came down from his hotel room to fetch me because I had got lost.”
He continued: “We got together there and he showed me some of the music he was going to bring out. I’ve heard people saying he was taking drugs, but the truth is that when he got to the restaurant where I was working he was already under the effects of drugs and he didn’t actually eat anything.”
Paiz went on to claim that he spent the evening with Payne, whom he alleged was consuming cocaine while he smoked marijuana.
“We took drugs together, but I never took drugs to him or accepted any money,” he said.
Three people, including Paiz, are currently being investigated in connection with Payne’s death. Investigators did not identify the suspects by name.
Prosecutor Andrés Madrea said in a statement: “Illicit conduct was discovered from which three people were charged with the crimes of abandonment of a person followed by death, supply and facilitation of narcotics.”
Paiz’s interview comes after Payne’s “close friend”, Argentinian businessman Rogelio “Roger” Nores, hit back at claims that he was one of the three suspects under investigation.
