Liam Payne’s Hotel Raided By Buenos Aires Authorities Amid Death Investigation

Local authorities raided Liam Payne’s hotel in Buenos Aires as part of an ongoing investigation into his tragic death.

The former One Director member reportedly fell from a third-floor hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Wednesday, October 16. The 31-year-old artist was reportedly acting erratically, with hotel staff alleging he seemed to be under the influence of “drugs and alcohol” and was seen “trashing his room.”

An initial toxicology report confirmed the presence of cocaine in his system. Additionally, authorities discovered various prescription medications and drug paraphernalia in the hotel suite where Payne was staying.

Authorities suspect that hotel employees supplied the drugs found in Liam Payne's system at the time of his death.

Authorities believe the substances were delivered to him concealed inside a Dove soapbox, which was discovered during the investigation. This discovery prompted the police raid on the hotel.

According to the Argentinian newspaper LA NACION, law enforcement officials searched the premises after discovering new evidence that raised suspicions about the circumstances surrounding the incident.

“Personnel from the Special Investigations Division and the Special Technological Investigations Division were deployed [Wednesday] afternoon to the CasaSur Hotel in Palermo where the singer Liam Payne lost his life last week to carry out a raid […] to obtain elements of interest for the investigation,” a police source told LA NACION on Thursday, October 24.

According to Page Six, a second source said authorities collected “documents and videos” from the hotel’s lobby and courtyard as part of their efforts to reconstruct the singer’s final moments before his death.

Authorities have also seized the hotel’s computers, phones, and various electronic devices as part of their investigation. They aim to analyze digital communications and logs that could provide further insight into events leading up to Liam Payne's death. Additionally, the "hotel must provide” more security camera footage.

According to an insider speaking with Us Weekly, the primary objective of the raid was to determine which staff members were on duty on October 16 and in the days preceding the incident. Investigators suspect that some employees may have been involved in supplying Payne with the substances discovered in his system.

Police believe these drugs were smuggled to the singer concealed inside a Dove soapbox, which was recovered from his hotel room during the initial investigation.

A few days ago, TMZ reported that police are zeroing in on a specific hotel employee whom they suspect of supplying Liam Payne with anti-anxiety medications. These meds were allegedly discovered in the singer's room at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel, and authorities are now investigating whether this staff member played a role in providing the substances linked to Payne's tragic death.

A partial autopsy revealed that the former One Direction singer had multiple substances in his system when he fell from the third-floor balcony of his hotel room in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on October 16, sources told ABC News.

The substances identified included "pink cocaine"—a recreational drug typically composed of a mix of methamphetamine, ketamine, MDMA, and other stimulants—as well as cocaine, benzodiazepines, and crack. Investigators also discovered an improvised aluminum pipe used for drug ingestion in his hotel room, according to the sources.

A source close to the late singer's girlfriend revealed that Payne's "erratic behavior started ramping up" after his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, left their vacation.

Two days before his tragic death, Cassidy returned to her home in Miami, Florida, leaving Payne behind in Argentina. She explained that the couple initially planned to stay in the country for only five days, but the trip ended up being extended.

"You could see from the Snapchat videos that he was a different person around her, the insider told People Magazine.

Before Liam Payne's death, hotel officials contacted authorities, urgently requesting assistance for a guest they described as "intoxicated with drugs and alcohol." When authorities arrived approximately seven minutes later, they discovered Payne's body in the hotel's inner courtyard.

He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Alberto Crescenti, the director of SAME (Buenos Aires Emergency Medical Services).

Payne's body will remain in Argentina until the autopsy is fully completed.