Liam Payne’s bodyguard seen reviewing hotel security footage amid drugs probe

Liam Payne’s father Geoff and his bodyguard Paul Higgins have been seen reviewing security footage of Hotel CasaSur Palermo in Argentina following his tragic death at 31

While Liam Payne’s devastated father Geoff spent over 4 hours at the office of the investigating prosecutor, his bodyguard, Paul Higgins was with the police at the Hotel CasaSur Palermo reviewing security footage.

Higgins was also seen interviewing several hotel employees to try to find out who reportedly supplied the late One Direction singer Liam with alleged narcotics as widely reported on mainstream media.

On Wednesday, October 16, Liam left his legion of loyal fans bereft when he fell from the third floor of his hotel suite in Buenos Aires, Argentina, aged 31.

According to Argentine media reports, the star had traces of cocaine in his body, forensic experts have discovered. News portal Infobae said materials extracted from the singer’s body in an autopsy following his death last Wednesday had “determined the presence of the class-A drug.”

Police have been looking over newly collected hotel CCTV to determine whether the singer received a drug delivery while staying there.

Officers also began examining the One Direction singer’s mobile phone to determine who he was in contact with in the hours before he fell from his room’s balcony in Buenos Aires.

Liam’s bodyguard Paul Higgins was with the police at the Hotel CasaSur Palermo reviewing security footage ( Image:THE GROSBY GROUP / BACKGRID)

Mr Higgins and Liam’s devastated dan Geoff have been reviewing the footage together ( Image:THE GROSBY GROUP / BACKGRID)

The development comes as officials from the public prosecutor’s office met with Liam’s father, Geoff, who is in Argentina. Andrés Esteban Madrea told him that toxicology and histopathological exams have not yet been completed, although once the results have been received, the 31-year-old’s body can be released to his family.

A source told the Mirror: “It is a painstaking investigation. As the eyes of the world are still wanting to know about Liam’s death, Madrea knows everything from CCTV and phone records to Liam’s post-mortem must done with precision.

Liam’s devastated dad is in Argentina trying to get his son’s body back home ( Image:Anadolu via Getty Images)
“He has told his staff no stone must be left unturned and that the investigation will be led where the evidence takes them. He has personally vowed to Geoff that if criminality is found in any way, those responsible will face the full force of the law.”

According to local reports, an initial toxicology report found the presence of cocaine in Liam’s body at the time of his death.

The preliminary exam was handed to local prosecutors, but they stressed it did not offer an accurate reading of how much of the drug was circulating in his blood when he died.

Police found what appeared to be drugs and alcohol strewn around broken and burnt objects and furniture in the singer’s hotel room, leading the public prosecution to believe he had suffered a substance abuse-induced breakdown around the time of his fall.

The prosecution said Liam could have been in a state of “semi or total unconsciousness” when he fell. The father-of-one suffered “extremely serious injuries” after landing in the courtyard of the CasaSur Hotel in the trendy Palmero neighbourhood of Buenos Aires last Wednesday.

Minutes before his death, the hotel’s desk manager told a 911 operator there was “a guest drunk with drugs and alcohol” who was “breaking everything in the room”. Moments later, Liam was found on the floor of the hotel’s restaurant after falling 45ft from his third-floor balcony.

Liam’s family have been left heartbroken by his tragic death ( Image:PA)

Liam had been in Argentina with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy ( Image:Getty Images for BFC)
Minutes before his death, the hotel’s desk manager told a 911 operator there was “a guest drunk with drugs and alcohol” who was “breaking everything in the room”. Moments later, Liam was found on the floor of the hotel’s restaurant after falling 45ft from his third-floor balcony.

Since the news of his tragic death, tributes have poured in from all corners of the world for Liam, who was a much-loved household name. The remaining members of One Direction united to share an emotional joint statement on Thursday night, with Louis Tomlinson later sharing an emotional promise for Liam’s seven-year-old son, Bear, in a personal tribute.

Niall Horan, who met up with Liam in Argentina recently, shared details of his final hug with his late bandmate on Friday morning.