Former One Direction member Liam Payne had “pink cocaine” — among other drugs — in his system before he jumped to his death from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, last week, an initial toxicology report found, according to multiple reports.
The toxicology report revealed that Payne had multiple drugs in his system, including “pink cocaine,” a recreational drug that — despite its name — typically does not include cocaine, but is a combination of ecstasy (MDMA), ketamine, and methamphetamine.
Argentina’s Todo Noticias TV channel, along with other media outlets, noted that the toxicology report also found evidence that “cocaine was the substance that had been” in Payne’s system “the longest,” and that Benzodiazepines and crack cocaine were also found.
Fernando Cardini, an Argentinian forensic toxicologist, told local media that the drugs found were “a cocktail of chemical substances that is very complicated for any living organism.”
“There was a situation where the person was consuming drugs, but because he was in a different country, maybe the drug he bought was not in the same concentration. Maybe the dose was too high for him,” Cardini said.
Investigators are still trying to determine whether the former One Direction singer had purchased the drugs in Argentina or if someone had given them to him.
Cardini also questioned whether Payne had committed suicide, noting that even if one is jumping from a balcony with the intent to end their life, they still have the natural instinct “to put his hands out to protect himself” during the fall.
“What the forensic doctors said was that he showed no signs of defending himself before the fall,” Cardini said. “A suicide, before falling, has the instinct to put his hands out to protect himself. Due to intoxication, he reached a point of unconsciousness.”
“He died from the fall, but the combination of drugs was very significant,” Cardini added.
A former DEA agent is warning the public about the “designer drug” known as pink cocaine, noting that the concoction has “been in the United States for a little while now, it hasn’t been as popular as it’s becoming now,” according to ABC News.
“The first piece that we almost always see in pink cocaine is ketamine, a dissociative drug, something that makes people feel like they’re detached from reality. The second component is a psychedelic,” the former DEA agent added.
“Pink cocaine” is now trending on the Chinese social media platform, TikTok, which is popular among young people.
As Breitbart News reported, Payne died on October 16 at the age of 31 after jumping from the third story balcony of his hotel room at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
A preliminary autopsy found that the former One Direction member died of trauma, as well as internal and external bleeding, according to Argentina’s National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office.
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.