ONE of the three suspects being investigated over Liam Payne’s death has broken his silence to insist he did nothing wrong.
Argentinian waiter Braian Nahuel Paiz, who has been identified as the singer’s “dealer” in an ongoing prosecution probe, admitted to two hotel meetings with the 31-year-old before his tragic fall.
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He confessed to taking drugs with him but insisted he never supplied Liam with narcotics or accepted any money from him.
The 24-year-old claimed he hung out with the former One Direction singer at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires during a second meeting.
Braian appeared on Argentinian TV on Saturday and claimed that the pair met more than once.
Their initial encounter was at the restaurant in the upmarket neighbourhood of Puerto Madero where Braian worked.
There, the waiter claimed he and Liam exchanged contact details as the singer dined with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy and two other people.
A nervous Braian spoke in an on-camera interview to journalist Guillermo Panizza, claiming that Liam used a “secret” Instagram to communicate with him.
After meeting at the restaurant, the Argentinian claims his first encounter with the Brit star was on October 2 at another hotel the singer was staying, before he moved to CasaSur Palermo.
In a first segment of the bombshell interview, he said: “I never supplied Liam with drugs.”
He admitted his former home has been searched but claimed he is yet to be quizzed by investigators.
The waiter went on to allege that Liam showed Braian some of the music he was yet to release as the pair “took drugs together”.
The Argentine TV programme then showed viewers a photo of him and Liam together, said to have been taken during their first hotel meeting.
Liam could be seen wearing a white top and a baseball cap.
The 1D star was “really sweet” before allegedly arranging a second meeting, according to Braian.
“Our second hotel meeting was on the night of Sunday October 13,” he claimed.
In a third and final segment of his TV interview, Braian said: “We took drugs together but I never took drugs to him or accepted any money.”
He claimed to have messages where Liam offered him money, but insisted he never accepted these offers.
The singer then tried to give him some clothing as some sort of gift, but the waiter refused to take it, leaving the items — a pair of grey jogging bottoms and a T-shirt — behind the TV.
He told local media that he had introduced Liam to a close friend who was a fan, and that he was unfamiliar with the two other suspects under investigation.
Braian, who was reportedly dismissed from his job after being implicated in the investigation, is the second individual connected to Liam to speak publicly about the case.
Meanwhile, reports indicate that Argentine police are still searching for Liam’s missing Rolex watch.
Cops probing the final hours of the One Direction Star’s life suspect the expensive timepiece has been stolen.
Liam was reportedly wearing the watch at least two to three hours before he plunged from the third floor balcony at his hotel, Argentinian Daily La Nacion reports.
But when his body was inspected by cops, Liam was no longer wearing the Rolex.
Police sources told the paper: “We know, from images that were analyzed, that Payne was wearing a Rolex on the day of his death.
“He was wearing it in one of his hands and he had it for at least two to three hours before he jumped into the void.
“We looked for him in the room at the CasaSur hotel where he was staying and we couldn’t find him.”
Cops also did not subsequently discover the watch during raids on nine homes involved with those under investigation for his death.
A source said: “The watch was searched for at the homes of the people accused of the crimes of abandonment of a person and supply and facilitation of narcotics and at the homes of the two women who were with Payne in the room the afternoon of his death.”
Now they will turn their attention back to the hotel room Liam was in just before he died as cops conduct a second inspection.
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