BREAKING NEWSLiam Payne Investigation Explodes: 3 People Arrested in Connection to the Former One Direction Singer's Tragic Death
Three people were arrested in connection to Liam Payne's death.
Three individuals were detained and arrested in Buenos Aires following the tragic death of former One Direction singer Liam Payne.
Two of the unnamed detainees are being accused of providing the narcotics found in Payne's system during the autopsy after his fatal fall from the hotel's third floor.
Liam Payne's body is set to be returned to the U.K.
"Police detained two hotel workers accused of supplying the drugs," David Muir confirmed on ABC World News Tonight, citing authorities on November 6, adding that they "raided the home of a friend, also detained."
The arrests and raids occurred on Wednesday night in Buenos Aires, where the CasaSur Palermo Hotel is located.
Authorities conducted raids at nine different locations, including the hotel, the suspect's homes and the hotel room of a woman who was with Payne before his death.
During the raids, various electronic devices and a jar of marijuana were seized by the police.
Several friends, fans and loved ones paid tribute to Liam Payne.
The three detainees have now been arrested and charged with "abandonment of a person followed by death, supply and facilitation of narcotics," confirmed a statement by the office of prosecutor Andres Esteban Madrea.
The statement added: "Liam Payne was not fully conscious or was experiencing a state of noticeable decrease or loss of consciousness at the time of the fall".
It said one of the accused "accompanied the artist on a daily basis" during his stay in Argentina.
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At the same time as the arrests, Payne's body has been taken from the Buenos Aires' British cemetery and is en route to an airport, a senior cemetery source said to Reuters, presumably for repatriation back to England.
The singer's body was being held while local authorities completed toxicological and other laboratory reports.
Liam Payne reportedly acted 'erratic' before he fell to his death.
The former One Direction singer's toxicology reports showed a deadly mix of drugs known as "pink cocaine" were present in Payne's bloodstream at his time of death, along with benzodiazepine, cocaine and crack.
Former DEA agent Bill Bodner said, "The first piece that we almost always see in pink, or pink cocaine, is ketamine — a dissociative drug, something that makes people feel like they're detached from reality. The second component is psychedelics."
The name "pink cocaine" stems from its bright pink hue — derived from food coloring — which sometimes includes strawberry flavoring that can be inhaled or taken in pill form.
The drug is commonly referred to on the street as "tusi" or "tuci" and functions as both a stimulant and a depressant.
The National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor's Office also confirmed that officials discovered "substances inside the room that at first glance — and pending confirmation from the experts — would be narcotics and alcoholic beverages," according to an October 17 press release.
Payne died last month after the pop star fell from the balcony of his third floor hotel room in Buenos Aires.
Shocking photos of Payne's hotel room were revealed, showing a smashed TV screen and screwed-up burnt aluminum foil in a bathtub.
White powder and other drug paraphernalia could also be seen throughout the room, along with a half-drunk glass of champagne.
