However, they believe he may have taken the pills marked as hydrocodone not knowing they contained fentanyl, according to the Star Tribune.
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A recent report by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) found that “hundreds of thousands of counterfeit prescription pills, many containing deadly amounts of fentanyl and fentanyl-related compounds, have made their way into the US drug market”.
The pills were seized from Prince’s Paisley Park estate near Minneapolis after his death.
Tests on Prince prior to his death did not show fentanyl in his system, AP added, citing an official involved with the investigation, indicating the singer was not a long-term user of the drug.
The powerful synthetic drug fentanyl responsible for the late singer Prince’s overdose death was a secret ingredient in mislabled pill bottles found in his home, according to an investigator.
Numerous pills are said to have been found inside vitamin and aspirin bottles and tucked inside a suitcase and duffel bags in his dressing room.
Meanwhile, officials told Star Tribune that Prince had many of these pills with him a week before his death when his airplane made an emergency stop in IL after he fell ill.
One of the pills analysed by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension tested positive for fentanyl, lidocaine and another drug.
The singer apparently only weighed 8 stone (51kg) when he died in an accidental overdose.
The star is not thought to have had prescriptions for any controlled substances in the state of Minnesota in the 12 months before he died at the age of 57.
Of dozens of pills taken from Prince’s Paisley Park home and studio, some were found to have other drugs in them, including oxycodone and codeine.
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His death occurred just one week after his private plane made an emergency landing in IL after he fell ill.
