Cops launch manhunt for second ‘drug dealer waiter’ accused of selling Liam Payne cocaine after hotel worker arrest
Share:
COPS have launched a manhunt for the second man accused of selling Liam Payne drugs after arresting waiter Braian Paiz. An arrest warrant was issued for Ezequiel David Pereyra, 21, after he failed to hand himself into jail. The suspended hotel worker was not at his home on the outskirts of Buenos Aires on Friday either - when police went to execute the court order to arrest him.
![[Former hotel waiter Braian Paiz has been arrested in connection with Liam's death]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1d7c0392-972d-4230-b114-4a85da17df09.jpg?strip=all&w=569)
He “remains a fugitive,” Argentinian site Infoabae reports. The police operation searched for Pereyra at home in the city of Lomas de Zamora, according to news site Clarin. Pereyra and Braian Nahuel Paiz, 24, have both been charged with supplying Liam with drugs in exchange for money.
![[Tributes left to Liam Payne in New York]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2024-new-york-city-former-942998134.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Paiz was arrested after cops arrived at his home on Friday after a judge gave the hotel worker 24 hours to hand himself in. They could both face between four and 15 years if convicted. Judge Laura Bruniard had ordered preventative detention for Paiz and he is being held on a 5million peso bail (£3,896).
Paiz’s lawyer Fernando Madeo confirmed his client had been arrested but didn’t give any more details about what prison he would be taken to or when. Fernando Madeo earlier insisted his client has been the victim of a “witch hunt” as officials desperately try to find answers over the One Direction star's death.
![[Liam died after falling from at the hotel he was staying at]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/patio-hotel-former-one-direction-941454229.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Paiz is accused of handing the troubled pop star cocaine on two separate occasions on October 14. He previously admitted to taking drugs with the star but has insisted he was not a dealer. Lawyer Madeo said: “They want to look for culprits at any price, violating constitutional rights and guarantees and forming a ’truth’ which turns out to false as is the case here.
![[Tributes were left to Liam outside his home]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/floral-tributes-singer-liam-payne-947543118.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
