Police investigating the death of Liam Payne are reportedly zeroing in on one particular item found in the Buenos Aires, Argentina, hotel room where the singer was staying before his tragic fall: a Dove soap box. Law enforcement officials believe this soap box could hold the key to uncovering who supplied Payne with the drugs that were found in his system, according to TMZ.
Sources within the Buenos Aires police force have revealed to TMZ that officers are scrutinizing whether an employee at the Casa Sur hotel used the Dove soap box to discreetly deliver drugs to Payne. A photograph of the room's contents after Payne's death shows the soap box on a table, alongside drugs and drug-related paraphernalia such as tin foil and white powder.
Buenos Aires police are exploring the possibility that a hotel employee may have been the one to deliver the drugs that Payne ingested before his death. TMZ reports that investigators are particularly interested in one employee who they suspect might have provided Payne with an anti-anxiety medication discovered at the scene.
TMZ also reports that law enforcement is attempting to ascertain whether this same employee could have supplied Payne with the lethal combination of drugs found in his preliminary autopsy report. According to ABC News, Payne had ingested 'pink cocaine,' a recreational drug that typically contains a mix of MDMA, ketamine, and methamphetamine. Argentine media outlets, including broadcaster Todo Noticias and TMZ, have reported that the autopsy also revealed Payne had been exposed to cocaine and traces of methamphetamines, ketamine, MDMA, as well as benzodiazepines and crack cocaine.
In response to the ongoing investigation, a special investigations unit raided the Casa Sur hotel on Wednesday night, following a directive from the public prosecutors' office. Law enforcement seized computer hard drives and footage from hotel cameras, according to a government official who spoke with the AP.
Payne's father, Geoff, arrived in Argentina shortly after his son's death to assist with the police investigation. The ex-One Direction singer's bodyguard, Paul Higgins, has also been cooperating with law enforcement and was reportedly seen questioning several hotel staffers earlier this week.
Payne passed away on October 16 after falling from the third-floor balcony of his hotel. He was 31. The preliminary autopsy report indicates that Payne's death was caused by multiple injuries, including internal and external bleeding from the fall. Reports suggest that Payne was acting erratically before his death, prompting a hotel manager to call the police for assistance.
The Post has reached out to Buenos Aires city police and the Argentine Ministry of Justice for further comment.
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