Staff at the Buenos Aires hotel where Liam Payne died are being investigated on suspicion of supplying him with drugs, according to reports.
The 31-year-old One Direction singer fell to his death from the balcony of his room in the Argentinian capital on Wednesday, prompting shock and grief from his fans across the world.
His hotel room was found in a shambolic state with the TV screen smashed and debris littering the suite.
Items believed to be drugs paraphernalia - including white powder and aluminium foil - are said to be among items found there by police. Some of the substances have been sent away for analysis.A cleaner and another member of staff at the Casa Sur hotel are reportedly being investigated by police, on suspicion of supplying drugs to Payne.
It is thought narcotics may have been smuggled into the hotel in a Dove soap box which was found in Payne’s room, MailOnline reports.
“There were two guys at the hotel that were giving Liam drugs,” a friend of the singer told MailOnline. “They sent taxis out to collect packages for him.”
The friend said one member of cleaning staff has now been fired by the hotel.
“The cleaner and another member of staff have been interviewed by the police,” added the friend.
“Liam was doing everything to stay clean but as soon as he got to the hotel these people were offering him alcohol and drugs.”
Details of Payne’s final hours at the Casa Sur Hotel in Palermo, a trendy neighborhood of Buenos Aires, remain unclear as Argentine prosecutors say he appeared to have excessively consumed drugs and alcohol.
The prosecution cited investigators who found Payne's hotel room a mess with what appeared to be narcotics and alcohol strewn about broken objects and furniture.
It remains unclear whether Payne intentionally jumped or accidentally fell from the third floor.
A post-mortem performed shortly after his death showed he died from the plunge, which caused "multiple trauma" and "internal and external bleeding" in the skull, chest and abdomen and limbs. The results of toxicology reports are pending.
Investigators said there were no signs of anyone else being involved in Payne’s death, citing a lack of defensive wounds on his body that also indicates he did not try to protect himself from the fall.
The prosecutor's report said Payne could have fallen into a state of semi-consciousness or unconsciousness.
Thousands of heartbroken One Direction fans gathered in London’s Hyde Park, and in cities across the world on Sunday to pay tribute to Payne and mourn his death.
On Friday, his father Geoff Payne visited the Casa Sur Hotel, where he read letters and cards his late son’s fans had left outside.
On Saturday, Payne’s sister Ruth Gibbins paid a heartfelt tribute to her brother on Instagram saying she does not feel “this world was good enough or kind enough” to him, and sharing pictures.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t save you” she wrote, adding: “One last time I need you to know, I’m here if you need anything, I’d drive to the end of the universe to bring you back.”
In the media frenzy over the case, the gossip and celebrity news site TMZ had drawn particular backlash for publishing a cropped image that purported to show Payne's body, with his identifying tattoos, sprawled on a wooden deck after his fall.
The site later pulled the image under a torrent of criticism. But the fallout continued on Friday when the Girls Aloud singer Cheryl — Payne's former girlfriend and the mother of his son, Bear — posted a powerful statement on Instagram in implicit response.
"What is troubling my spirit most is that one day Bear will have access to the abhorrent reports and media exploitation we have seen in the past two days," she wrote. "Please give Liam the little dignity he has left in the wake of his death to rest in some peace at last."
