Argentinian police raid hotel where singer Liam Payne died

Argentine police have raided the Buenos Aires hotel where former One Direction singer Liam Payne stayed before he died last week after falling from a third-floor balcony.

A special investigation unit of the police went to the Casa Sur hotel late Wednesday night on the instructions of the public prosecutor's office. Officials seized items including computer hard drives and hotel camera footage, a government official said on condition of anonymity.

The singer died on October 16 after falling from a third-floor balcony in the upmarket district of tourist Palermo. According to the autopsy, Payne died from multiple injuries as well as internal and external bleeding from the fall. His body was found in the inner courtyard of the hotel.

Initial investigations revealed that the musician was alone and experiencing a “breakdown” due to the consumption of a substance that has yet to be fully determined. According to the public prosecutor's office, after Payne's death, police found the substance as well as several destroyed items and furniture in his hotel room.

The former pop star had cocaine in her system, according to a preliminary toxicology report released Monday by local press and a source familiar with the situation confirmed to the AP. Definitive results are not expected to be made public for several weeks.

The Casa Sur Hotel has become a place of homage to Penn's fans. They left flowers, candles and photos of the singer at a makeshift shrine around a tree at the hotel's entrance.

The singer's father, Geoff Payne, is arranging the repatriation of his son's body to Buenos Aires, which is expected to be released around October 28.

Payne's family – which includes his mother Karen Payne and his two sisters Ruth and Nicola – expressed their dismay at the loss, as did his former bandmates. Artists and celebrities from different countries continue to share their grief.

One Direction was among the most successful boy bands of recent times. It announced an indefinite hiatus in 2016 and Payne – like his former bandmates Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson – pursued a solo career.

The singer posted on her Snapchat account that she traveled to Argentina to attend Horan's concert in Buenos Aires on October 2. He shared videos of him dancing and singing on the stand with his girlfriend, American influencer Kate Cassidy. Cassidy left Argentina after the show, but Payne stayed behind.