Police in Buenos Aires reportedly believe a Dove soap box found in Liam Payne’s trashed hotel room could lead them to the individual who gave the late One Direction member drugs before he died.
Sources told TMZ Thursday that the Argentine authorities have a theory that the soap box was used to “secretly hand off” illegal substances to Payne, who was battling a “significant” drug addiction at the time.
Last week, an insider, who asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of his position, told People that investigators believed a CasaSur Palermo hotel employee supplied the drugs.
The source further alleged that law enforcement had “evidence” to support that claim and that an “indictment for drugs distribution could follow shortly.”
A suspect has not yet been named and charges haven’t been filed, but the investigation is ongoing.
Payne died on Oct. 16 after falling from a third-story balcony at CasaSur Palermo, where he had been staying as a guest. He was 31.
A toxicology report released Monday showed the troubled pop star had multiple drugs in his system, including pink cocaine, which is a drug cocktail typically mixed with ecstasy, ketamine, caffeine and a psychedelic used to treat sexual dysfunction known as 2-CB or Tusi.
He had allegedly also ingested cocaine, crack and benzodiazepine, a depressant, per the report.
Photos investigators took of Payne’s hotel room showed drug paraphernalia scattered all over a table, including clonazepam, which is used to control epilepsy, involuntary muscle spasms or panic disorders.
According to TMZ, police may have linked a hotel staffer to that particular medication.
Aside from drugs, the photos from Payne’s hotel room also featured the suspicious soap box, a burning candle, a burnt soda can top, a smashed TV, wax and burnt foil in his bathtub.
A police source told Argentine news outlet La Nación that the Special Investigations Division and the Special Technological Investigations Division went back to raid the CasaSur Palermo Hotel Wednesday.
Officials were looking to “obtain elements of interest for the investigation,” including “documents and videos” from the hotel lobby and courtyard, where the singer’s body was found, according to the insider.
Investigators also reportedly acquired the hotel’s computers, phones and other devices.
A separate insider told Us Weekly the main purpose of the raid was to identify which staffers were on duty when Payne was a guest.
The National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office in Argentina previously said that investigators had interviewed three hotel staffers and two women who were with the “For You” singer before he died.
It was later revealed, per La Nación, that lead prosecutor Marcelo Roma spoke to two 25-year-old prostitutes who had admitted to drinking alcohol and partying with Payne hours before he passed.
However, the sex workers claimed under oath that they did not consume drugs with the former boy bander and that he appeared “normal” when they were with him.
Their account contradicts what several eyewitnesses have said that Payne appeared “erratic” when spotted in the hotel lobby before he died. One person said they even witnessed him smash his laptop.
The hotel’s manager was also overheard on a 911 call stating he had a male guest — later identified as Payne — who seemed “high and drunk” and that he feared the man’s life was in danger.
Shortly after, the “Story of My Life” singer suffered his fatal fall. He fractured his skill and his cause of death was determined to be from the multiple traumas, internal and external bleeding he sustained.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
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