Ledger drugs probe dropped

US government prosecutors have dropped the investigation into how actor Heath Ledger obtained two painkillers that contributed to his fatal overdose, a law enforcement official said today.

The anonymous official said prosecutors in the US attorney’s office in Manhattan bowed out “because they don’t believe there’s a viable target”.

The decision follows news reports that the Drug Enforcement Administration was pressuring actress Mary-Kate Olsen to speak to agents about the accidental overdose death of her close friend.