Police reportedly detain three people of interest in connection to the death of Liam Payne

Police investigation into Liam Payne's fatal fall from a third-floor balcony of Casa Sur Hotel in the Argentinian capital on October 16 has gotten an update. Authorities have reportedly detained three people of interest who may have a connection to the former One Direction singer's death.

David Muir reported on the matter for ABC World News Tonight on Wednesday, November 6, 2024. While the names of the detainees were not mentioned, Muir reported on their affiliation with the hotel where Payne died. He noted:

"Police detained two hotel workers accused of supplying the dr*gs and raided the home of a friend, also detailed."

Following Liam Payne's death, his toxicology reports provided some insight into his death. ABC News reported on October 21 that the British singer's partial autopsy reports showed pink cocaine in his system, among other substances. Payne is believed to have used crack, cocaine, and benzodiazepines before his death, as these substances also showed up in his toxicology test results.

At the time, ABC News also reported that the Argentinian state police noted that they were interviewing a hotel employee suspected of giving the singer the drugs on the day he fell to his death.

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Everything to know about the updates on Liam Payne's death investigation

In line with the reports about three detainees concerning Liam Payne's death, the local prosecutor's office in Argentina confirmed the same on Thursday, November 7, 2024. The local prosecutor's office charged Payne's businessman friend, a hotel worker, and an alleged drug dealer, per Rolling Stone.

The confirmation comes after La Nacion reported the previous day, November 6, that the Justice Department carried out nine raids in relation to the death of the British singer. The businessman friend in question is reportedly the first person charged regarding Payne's death. He was allegedly with the One Direction singer "on a daily basis" while he was in Argentina and is currently facing charges of abandonment of a person and for supplying narcotics to the singer. If proven guilty, the person could face between five to 15 years behind bars.

The alleged friend reportedly kept it a secret from Liam Payne's family that the singer had suffered a drug relapse. He also testified as a witness in the investigation, but reportedly there are contradictions in his statement. Per the local newspaper, the said friend claimed that he had been at the Palermo hotel on the day of Payne's death, but hotel employees said that they didn't see him there.

Meanwhile, the hotel maintenance worker and the alleged drug dealer are slapped with two charges of supplying narcotics to Payne after the employee reportedly gave the singer cocaine twice while he was staying in the hotel. The alleged drug dealer was reportedly from Lomas de Zamora. With these charges, they are now banned from leaving the country.

During eight of the nine home raids, law enforcement seized a jar of marijuana, nine cell phones, two portable electronic storage devices, and three personal computers related to the three police detainees. The only home raid the police did that wasn't related to the three charged was a house on Ushuaia 300 in Altos de Isidro Casanova. It was reportedly the house of one of the two women who were with the singer hours before he died.

The police raids happened one day before Liam Payne's remains were flown home to the UK via British Airways.