Two people arrested, one person’s house searched

Argentine police have arrested three relevant people in connection with the death of the former One Direction member and searched the house of one of them – allegedly an acquaintance of Liam Payne.

According to reports from ABC World News and La Nación, authorities have arrested two hotel employees and a “friend” posing as Payne’s manager. Payne had reportedly spent time with the latter before his death on October 16. The two hotel employees are accused of supplying Payne with the narcotics that were found in his body after he fell from the third floor of the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires. He was 31 years old.

La Nación identifies Payne’s “friend” as a businessman and accuses him of abandoning him by not telling Payne’s family that he had problems and was using drugs. A preliminary toxicology report from the National Crime and Corrections Office confirmed that he had “pink cocaine,” a recreational drug typically composed of MDMA, ketamine and methamphetamine, in his system at the time of his death.

Eight apartments were searched in connection with the three defendants in the case. A ninth location in the raid was the room of one of two women who were said to have been with Payne hours before his death. According to the newspaper, police seized nine cellphones, three computers, two hard drives and a jar of marijuana.

Prosecutor Andrés Madrea also recently confirmed to the BBC that Payne’s body was returned to his family on November 6 after being held in Argentina while local authorities conducted further toxicology and laboratory tests.

In the days following his death, every One Direction member and the entire band paid personal tribute to Payne. “As time goes on and everyone is able, there will be more to say,” the band said. “But for now we will take some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved very much. The memories we shared with him will be remembered forever. At the moment our thoughts are with his family, his friends and the fans who loved him by our side. We will miss him terribly. We love you, Liam.”