Three people have been arrested after One Direction star Liam Payne fell to his death from a Buenos Aires hotel balcony last month. 

The trio have been charged with abandoning the British musician in a vulnerable state and supplying him with drugs, Argentine prosecutors said on Thursday. 

The prosecutor’s office also revealed Payne had consumed cocaine, alcohol and a prescription antidepressant before his fatal fall. 

The BBC reports one of those arrested was a person who accompanied the artist. They have been charged with the abandonment of a person followed by death and the supply and facilitation of narcotics. 

A hotel employee and a third person have also been charged with supplying narcotics. 

Argentinian authorities have been investigating Payne’s final days at the CasaSur hotel. The BBC said authorities have also carried out multiple raids and are continuing to investigate Payne’s broken laptop and other devices seized. 

The singer died on 16 October after falling from a third-floor balcony of the hotel he was staying in. 

Geoff Payne, father of Liam Payne, visits the fan tributes for the late former One Direction member outside Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires. Photo / Getty 

It comes as the singer’s body has been flown back to Britain ahead of his funeral. 

Days after his death on October 16, his father Geoff Payne, 66, arrived in Argentina. It was reported at the time he would face a long wait to get his son’s body back home due to local authorities carrying out toxicology and laboratory tests. 

Payne’s body has now been released to his family ahead of his funeral, the BBC has reported. 

Liam Payne was a member of boy band One Direction alongside Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, and Louis Tomlinson. Photo / Getty Images 

A close friend of the former One Direction singer told MailOnline about plans for his upcoming funeral, saying, “Liam will have a very big send-off, quite probably at a large cathedral somewhere close to his heart. 

“Liam was so loved by so many people, there will obviously be enormous demand and so the service will necessarily be a huge affair.” 

Payne’s family issued a statement paying tribute to the singer that said, “Liam will forever live in our hearts and we’ll remember him for his kind, funny and brave soul. 

“We are supporting each other the best we can as a family and ask for privacy and space at this awful time.” 

- Additional reporting, Bang Showbiz