“‘I Have $100. Party’: ‘Incriminating’ Liam Payne Drug Texts and CCTV Revealed as Dealers Head to Trial”

Prosecutors Unveil ‘Incriminating’ Evidence in Liam Payne Cocaine Trial as Drug Deal Captured on CCTV

Argentinian prosecutors have revealed new evidence in the case against two men accused of supplying former One Direction star Liam Payne with cocaine prior to his fatal fall from a Buenos Aires hotel balcony last October.

Waiter Braian Nahuel Paiz, 25, and hotel staffer Ezequiel David Pereyra, 24, have been held in custody since January, facing drug charges that could carry sentences of up to 15 years if convicted. The pair are accused of selling the singer cocaine in the final hours before his death.

Prosecutors allege that CCTV footage from the CasaSur Palermo Hotel shows Pereyra handing Payne cocaine outside his room approximately one hour and ten minutes before his death. According to the indictment, Payne was seen speaking with Pereyra in a hotel lift, asking him for “seven grams of the same drug he had handed him earlier.”

Lead prosecutor Andrés Madrea detailed that Pereyra’s involvement was supported by witness statements from five hotel employees. One of the most damning accounts came from the hotel’s head of general maintenance, who told investigators he saw Pereyra with a $100 note on 14 October. When asked if it was a tip, Pereyra allegedly replied he was “running an errand for a guest,” later admitting it was “to bring drugs.”

Further evidence includes Payne requesting a taxi in the early hours of 15 October to Pereyra’s residence in Lomas de Zamora. Surveillance footage confirmed Pereyra’s return to the hotel shortly afterwards, where he met Payne outside and was seen carrying “some kind of wrapper.”

In another key statement, a CasaSur computer technician who spoke English told investigators that Payne spoke to Pereyra in the hotel basement lift on the day of his death. He reportedly overheard the singer say: “Hey man, I will need another seven grams more for today.”

Prosecutors also outlined two drug deals involving Paiz, who met Payne at a restaurant in Puerto Madero. In messages extracted from Payne’s phone, the singer asked Paiz in the early hours of 14 October for “five or five grams,” to which Paiz replied, “I think I got to three,” later sending images of a plastic bag filled with white powder.

Paiz allegedly delivered the drugs to Payne at the hotel around 3:24am, staying until 8:15am. A second exchange reportedly took place later that day when Payne travelled to Paiz’s flat. In a subsequent message, the singer wrote: “I have $100. Party.”

Despite the mounting evidence, Paiz has continued to deny wrongdoing. From his prison cell, he told local outlet Infobae: “I don’t know what I’m doing here, I’m a good person. I shared drugs with Liam, but I didn’t sell them.”

Three others originally charged in the case—including the hotel’s head of security—were cleared in February following an appeal. A trial date for Paiz and Pereyra has yet to be confirmed.