Former Whitney Houston aide Raffles Van Exel picked up parcels of cocaine and other drugs that had been couriered to hotels where the tragic diva was staying with her then husband Bobby Brown, it’s been claimed.
Details have emerged of the contents of an affidavit that a top Hollywood lawyer sent to Beverly Hills police investigating Houston’s Feb. 11 death. She was found submerged in the bathtub of her hotel suite, though the case was closed Apr. 12 when it was determined there was no foul play.
According to the sworn affidavit, a copy of which Celebuzz has seen, “Raffles used to pick Federal Express packages from the front desk or concierges at the various hotels they (Whitney and Bobby) stayed at.”
It added, “These packages would have completed air bill’s on them but where not shipped overnight but rather dropped off by “runners” through Bobby Brown’s contacts. These packages contained cocaine among other drugs.”
The document was first obtained by investigative journalist Jacky Jasper who publishes the urban site Diary of a Hollywood Street King and has been probing Van Exel.
The claims made in the affidavit, made under penalty of perjury, appear to contradict Brown’s statement on Wednesday to NBC’s TODAY show, in which he said he has been unfairly accused of contributing to his ex-wife’s drug problem and subsequent death.
“I didn’t get high before I met Whitney,” Brown told Matt Lauer, in the interview below.
“I smoked weed, I drank the beer, but no, I wasn’t the one that got Whitney on drugs at all.”
The R&B singer-songwriter said Houston was taking drugs “way, way before” their 16-year marriage began in July 1992.
“It’s just unexplainable — how one could, you know, (say that I) got her addicted to drugs. I’m not the reason she’s gone,” Brown said.
The affidavit was written by a secret witness whose identity has not yet been revealed.
In another passage, the individual claimed Van Exel, a Dutch entertainment consultant who has gone to ground in the wake of Houston’s death, boasted about his ability to obtain crack cocaine for his friends. The document stated:
“Whenever there were fights between Bobby and Whitney he was the one that brokered peace. At learning that he used to be Whitney’s assistant, I jokingly asked: “So where do you get crack at 3 in the morning?” He immediately picked up his Blackberry, started to laugh loudly and asked me: “Which city?” He was actually ready to look through his Blackberry had I responded with a city. Although he continued to laugh, he proceeded to tell me: “I’m serious.”
Van Exel has not responded to multiple requests for comment from Celebuzz.
Source: Getty Images
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