Liam Payne had freed himself from drugs and was winning the battle against his demons while living in the US, but the drug dealers who attacked him in a Buenos Aires hotel dragged him back into despair, a friend has revealed. nearby.
The former One Direction singer, 31, had struggled with mental health issues for years and had sought treatment for his excessive alcohol and drug use.
But Payne had recently detoxified and been hired by a new psychiatrist in Miami, where he hoped to start a new life with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy.
However, his recovery was shattered during his ill-fated trip to Argentina to renew his US visa when he was attacked by drug dealers delivering them to his hotel room.
A close friend of the star revealed: ‘Liam had been clean for weeks. He had been to rehab more than once. He had received treatment in the United Kingdom and in California.
Liam Payne is pictured with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy at a premiere in London in March 2023.
Fans remember Liam Payne at the Peter Pan statue in Kensington Gardens in London on Sunday.
And he had recently been hired by a new psychiatrist in Florida. Everyone around Liam hoped he was on the road to recovery.
‘He went to Argentina to renew his US visa where he had to undergo a medical examination due to his history with alcohol and drugs.
‘The test results were good. Liam was 100 percent sober. But when he checked into the hotel, at some point someone started giving him drugs.
“Liam had tried so hard to get clean and then he was taken advantage of. These people only care about money. They didn’t care about their health.
Staff at the Casa Sur Hotel where Payne fell to his death are being investigated on suspicion of supplying drugs to the star in the days before the tragedy.
The men are accused of smuggling various narcotics into the singer’s suite at the boutique hotel in the exclusive Palermo neighborhood.
Fans gather during a tribute to Payne at Cathedral Gardens in Manchester on Sunday night.
A singer performs as Payne fans gather to pay tribute in the Tuileries Garden in Paris on Sunday.
A cleaner and another member of staff are said to have hidden the drugs in a box of Dove soap that detectives found in Payne’s room after his death.
White powder, traces of chemical crystals, prescription tablets and other drug paraphernalia were discovered in the third-floor suite.
Police have sent the chemicals, believed to be cocaine and crack cocaine, for analysis.
Detectives are also investigating why a taxi was booked in Payne’s name to go to a poor neighborhood 15 miles away.
The address in the city of Lomas de Zamora is said to match that of a man suspected of being involved in the supply of the substance, sources said.
The insider explained: ‘There were two guys in the hotel who were giving Liam drugs. They sent taxis to pick up the packages.
Fans watch emergency services work at the Hotel Casa Sur in Buenos Aires on October 16.
‘One of the boys was working in the cleaning department. After Liam’s death, they noticed that a taxi was sent to the cleaner’s home address.
‘The hotel manager asked him why the taxi had gone to his house and, unable to explain, he was fired.
“The police questioned the cleaner and another member of staff.”
The friend added: “Liam was doing his best to stay clean but as soon as he got to the hotel these people offered him alcohol and drugs.”
Payne died after falling from the balcony of his third-floor hotel suite last Wednesday afternoon.
The father of one died from multiple injuries, an autopsy revealed.
Forensic teams arrive at the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires to investigate on October 16
But Argentina’s National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office currently considers his death “inconclusive” while they await the results of toxicological tests.
The lead investigator, prosecutor Marcelo Roma, is investigating what role the use of illegal drugs and prescription medications played in his death.
The results of these tests are expected to take between ten and 15 days.
Payne’s father, Geoff Payne, arrived in the Argentine capital late last week to formally identify his son’s body and arrange for his repatriation to the UK once he is released by authorities.
The singer’s funeral is expected to take place in November.