Man arrested for supplying drugs to Liam Payne

Braian Paiz was apprehended in Argentina

Argentine police on Friday arrested one of the two men accused of supplying drugs to British singer Liam Payne before he fell to his death from his third-floor hotel room in Buenos Aires, reported AFP.

Braian Paiz, who is accused of having supplied cocaine to Payne, is one of five defendants indicted in connection with the death of the 31-year-old former One Direction pop star in October.

Three of the five were charged with manslaughter and the other two with supplying illegal drugs, prosecutors said earlier this week.

Prosecutors said Payne had consumed cocaine, alcohol and a prescription antidepressant before falling to his death from the balcony of his room at the Casa Sur Hotel.

Paiz, 24, is accused of supplying Payne with drugs two days before his death. His home has been searched, police sources said.

In November, Paiz denied in a television interview having given drugs to Payne, although he said that he met the pop star and spent time with him at his hotel. Paiz denied taking money for the drugs, but the judge in the case said evidence suggested he had been paid.

Payne had spoken publicly about struggling with substance abuse and coping with fame from an early age. His death prompted a global outpouring of grief from family, former bandmates and fans, with thousands gathering in cities around the world to offer their condolences.

One of the highest-grossing live acts in the world in the 2010s, One Direction went on indefinite hiatus in 2016. Payne enjoyed some solo success before his career stalled. His final single, Teardrops, was released last year.

Despite his success, Payne's takeaway memories of his time with One Direction were less than positive. In an earlier interview with The Telegraph, he described his boyband career as "cabin fever" and said, "I can remember when there were 10,000 people outside our hotel. We couldn't go anywhere. It was just gig to hotel, gig to hotel. And you couldn't sleep, because they'd still be outside."