Superman ecstasy
At least three deaths are being linked to a potentially lethal batch of an ecstasy with a Superman logo Suffolk Police

Three men have been arrested by police in connection with a series of suspected drugs-related deaths in Suffolk.

The men from Ipswich, aged 19, 20 and 26, were detained on Friday (2 December) on suspicion of being involved in the supply of controlled drugs.

Four men are thought to have died as a result of a "highly dangerous" batch of ecstasy pills featuring a Superman logo.

A 27-year-old man, who was found dead at a house in Ketley, Telford, Shropshire, at around 1.45pm on Thursday (1 January) is believed to be the latest victim whose death has been linked to the pill.

Police in Shropshire said they were not officially linking the death of the 27-year-old man in Telford on New Year's Day with the fatalities in Suffolk, but admitted there "appear to be similarities".

One of the men thought to have died from taking an ecstasy pill linked to the "dangerous" Suffolk batch has been named as 20-year-old labourer John Hocking.

The girlfriend of another man, Lithuanian Gediminas Kulokas, has revealed that found him "breathing in a funny way" before he died on New Year's Day, his 24th birthday.

Natasha Mumby said: "I propped him up and went back to bed. I then came back in the lounge because he was not making the breathing noise any more. He was just sitting there not breathing."

The death of the third man, Justas Ropas, in Ipswich on 24 December could also be linked to the drug, according to officers.

Suffolk Police have drawn a link between these latest drugs and dangerous pills with a similar appearance found in the Netherlands last month.

The tablets in the Netherlands had a large concentration of PMMA, which acts more slowly than ecstasy's MDMA, with the result that people take more pills because they think they are not working.

Following the three deaths in Suffolk, police appealed for people to hand the drugs in at a police station, A&E department or fire station in a drug amnesty in an effort to remove them from circulation. People surrendering the drugs will not face prosecution.

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