Payne died last year after falling from the third-floor balcony of the Casa Sur hotel in Buenos Aires.
A waiter has been charged with supplying drugs to Liam Payne before his death in October last year, and another hotel worker is also on the run.
According to Argentine media reports, 24-year-old hotel employee Brian Paiz was arrested at his home in Ingeniero Badge on Friday.
One Direction member Payne, 31, died on October 16 last year after falling from the third-floor balcony of the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires.
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On the run
sky news Argentina's public prosecutor's office announced on Monday that Paiz and one of his associates, Ezequiel Pereira, have been charged with two counts of supplying drugs, a charge punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
Media reports said police searched the 21-year-old Pereira's home but did not find him.
To quote an Argentine publication: daily mail Police said the suspended hotel worker was not at his home in the Buenos Aires suburbs when they went to enforce the court order and “remains a fugitive.”
Judge Laura Bruniard gave both men 24 hours to surrender to prison, but Paiz's arrest and Pereira's attempted detention did not take place until today.
Paiz was said to have been detained by officers from the Buenos Aires Police Department's Special Investigations Unit.
Influential sources have told Argentine media that they hope to “capture” Pereira within the next few hours.
Mr Payne's alleged “agents” Roger Nores, hotel manager Gilda Martin and receptionist Esteban Grassi have been charged with manslaughter, a crime similar to manslaughter under British law. The punishment is one to five years in prison.
Also read: Three people charged over Liam Payne's drug-related death
drug trafficking timeline
The drug transactions in which Paiz and Pereira were charged had been dated and timed by prosecutors. In the case of hotel employee Mr. Pereira's suspension, the suspension occurred on October 15 at 3:25 a.m. and on October 16 “between 3:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.” In the case of Paiz, it was 3:24 a.m. on October 14th and “between 10:03 a.m. and 10:44 a.m.” on the same day.
Prosecutors said earlier this week that witness testimony and analysis of surveillance footage showed Pereira received $100 from Payne to buy drugs and that Pereira drove him to his home on another occasion to pick up more drugs. It was revealed that the charges were substantiated.
Both men have been warned that if convicted as charged, they could face prison terms of between four and 15 years.
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