Drugs collected from Prince's Paisley estate after his death were actually counterfeit pills that contained fentanyl, the overdose of which caused his death, as per the autopsy report. He was found dead inside of an elevator in the complex of his estate on April 21.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity due to the ongoing investigation into Prince's death, an official told Minneapolis Star Tribune that although the pills seized from the death scene were labelled as hydrocodone, they actually contained fentanyl. The synthetic opioid is considered 50 times more powerful than heroin.
Prince's autopsy report clearly mentioned that the 57-year-old musician's died due to an accidental fentanyl overdose. The quantity of the lethal drug was too high in his body, who weighed just 112 pounds at the time of his death.
The official also revealed that nearly two dozen such pills found in one Aleve bottle were falsely labelled as Watson 385, which in turn is a weaker form of opioid. In fact, Watson 385 is used to identify pills containing a mix of acetaminophen and hydrocodone.
Prince reportedly did not have a prescription for fentanyl. It appears that either a pharmaceutical manufacturer mislabelled the pills or they were obtained illegally. The investigators are reportedly working on the theory that the late pop star did not know the pills contained fentanyl.
The recent report also stated a prescription bottle containing 10 oxycodone pills in someone else's name was discovered on the property. Thus far, roughly 20 different bottles or pill containers seized from Paisley estate have been analysed. Prince had many of these pills when he suffered from an accidental drug overdose on April as he heading home from a performance in Atlanta.
Fentanyl is said to be the most powerful painkiller on the market. It is normally prescribed to cancer patients in extreme pain or to someone who is dying or as given as a part of anaesthesia during surgery. However, according to DEA report, illegally manufactured fentanyl pills are readily available across America and have been responsible for a surge in overdose deaths in some parts of the country.
Meanwhile, watch Prince perform his hit number, "Purple Rain," during Super Bowl Halftime Show back in 2007 below: