Three men are being questioned by police after a spate of deaths linked to a potentially fatal batch of ecstasy tablets. Suffolk Police said the men, aged 19, 20 and 26, all from Ipswich, have been arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of controlled drugs.

The arrests follow the deaths of two young men in Ipswich, on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day, and a third man in Rendlesham, Suffolk, which have been linked to a dangerous batch of ecstasy pills.

The death of a fourth man in Telford, Shropshire, is also thought to be related to the rogue drugs.

Police have urged anyone who has the tablets to hand them in to prevent further fatalities, saying that members of the public have nothing to fear in surrendering drugs from the dangerous batch to authorities.

The drugs are red, triangular pills marked with a distinctive ‘Superman’ logo, and people are asked to hand them in at a police station, accident and emergency department or fire station.

Our focus remains the prevention of further harm to our communities by taking these drugs off the streets

Superintendent Louisa Pepper, from Suffolk Police, said: “Our focus remains the prevention of further harm to our communities by taking these drugs off the streets.

“The arrests follow inquiries by a dedicated investigation team whose work will continue to identify those suspected of being involved in the supply of these drugs.”

Police believe four men who have died and another who is seriously ill in hospital may have taken drugs from the dangerous batch.

A labourer named locally as John Hocking, 20, died after being found seriously unwell in Chestnut Close in Rendlesham, Suffolk, at 7.10am on January 1. He is believed to be a former student at Thomas Mills High School in Framlingham in the county.

A second man, named in a reports as Lithuanian labourer Gediminas Kulokas, died in Provan Court, Ipswich, at 9.40am the same day. Another man from the same address was taken to hospital in a serious condition.

Detectives believe those cases may be linked to a drugs-related death on Christmas Eve after a man, 22-year-old Justas Ropas, died in Ipswich. West Mercia Police also believe a 27-year-old man, named in reports as Daniel Bagnall, who was found dead at a property in Ketley,Telford on New Year’s Day, may have taken the drug.

The suspected rogue drugs are of similar appearance to dangerous pills in circulation in the Netherlands last month, Suffolk Police have said.