Liam Payne's "friend" and hotel workers' homes reportedly raided by police in investigation of former One Direction star's death

One of the deceased singer Liam Payne's friends and two hotel employees are reportedly under investigation for the singer's untimely death. Payne passed away on October 16 after falling off the third flood balcony of the CasaSur Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

According to TMZ, the Argentinian police reportedly conducted a second round of raids in the houses of two hotel employees and one of Liam Payne's anonymous "friend" in relation to his death on Tuesday, November 5. They reportedly also searched the hotel lockers of the employees concerned and investigated into the CCTV footage of the CasaSur Hotel.

The aforementioned report also claimed that the two concerned hotel employees reportedly contacted Payne before his death at the hotel. It further noted that police found contact details of Payne's friend from his phone. The acquaintance allegedly sold him drugs. The concerned individual was not present at his residence during the police's raid.

“Operations carried out by the City Police [and] requested by the prosecutor Andrés Madrea [were] within the framework of the case that is under summary secrecy," an Argentine police source told US Weekly.

The second round of raids comes after the Argentine authorities conducted a previous round of raids at the CasaSur Hotel last month (October 23) to “obtain elements of interest for the investigation", as reported by Argentine newspaper LA NACION. A second source claimed that these elements of interest reportedly included "documents and videos" from the Buenos Aires' hotel's courtyard and lobby to put together Liam Payne's final moments before death.

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Argentine police conducted the first raid at the CasaSur Hotel in relation to Liam Payne's death on October 23

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On October 23, Argentine authorities conducted their first raid at the CasaSur Hotel in order to identify staff members who were present during Liam Payne's stay and on the day of his death. Authorities reportedly collected video footage and registration books as evidence.

Argentinian journalist Paula Verela had earlier reported that certain footage allegedly showed Payne fainting before falling to his death. This is subject to verification with additional footage, as it could allegedly align with the preliminary autopsy theories. The autopsy reportedly suggested that Liam Payne “may have fallen in a state of semi or total unconsciousness" as his posture was unable to protect him from his fall.

Liam Payne's alleged connection to drugs are also under investigation. Argentine authorities are reportedly in the process of verifying where Payne allegedly got hold of drugs. The singer's autopsy report reportedly suggested he had "pink cocaine" in his system at the time of his death. The substance is a recreational drug that typically mixes methamphetamine, ketamine, MDMA and others. An insider source told US Weekly:

“They are looking to investigate who sold the drugs to Payne and how those substances reached the room. It cannot be ruled out that the substances were provided by someone from the hotel.”

The second raid at the CasaSur Hotel took place on November 5. Video footage obtained by the Farandula Show featured three law enforcement officers leaving the hotel in blue vests. One official reportedly carried a cardboard box with a few items inside which they put in their police car.

According to the Buenos Aires police, Liam Payne died after suffering “extremely serious injuries" from his fall. The Buenos Aires medical services director Alberto Crescenti claimed that the former One Direction singer suffered from a fractured skull.

As per multiple reports, authorities discovered various kinds of items related to alcohol and drugs in Liam Payne's hotel room, following his death. Items such as an empty Dove soap packet, a burning candle, a burnt soda can top and a piece of aluminum foil were also found in a desk in his room. The police reportedly believe the Dove carton was allegedly used to "secretly hand off" illegal substances to Payne.

A toxicology report allegedly claimed that the singer had multiple drugs in his system at the time of his death, including crack, cocaine and “pink cocaine".

Liam Payne's body will reportedly be flown back to the United Kingdom after being handed over to his father, Geoff Payne. The singer's funeral will take place in the city that saw him grow up, at the St Paul’s Cathedral in Wolverhampton.