A DEADLY batch of drugs has claimed a fourth victim, police said yesterday.

Detectives investigating four suspected fatal overdoses on Tyneside within a fortnight believe that blue pills may be the common link.

The small round tablets, which look like the prescribed tranquilliser Valium, are believed to have been imported from the Far East and sold by dealers.

They do not have the scoring identification or dosage levels found on Valium and investigators still do not know exactly what they contain.

Detective Inspector Steve Dunn, of Newcastle CID, said that police would hunt down the dealers who supplied the tablets.

"We still can't say for certain whether these tablets contributed to these four deaths, but we need to warn the public," he said.

"Efforts to trace the source of the tablets are being made as inquiries are continuing into the deaths."

Forensic scientists are carrying out tests to establish whether the drugs are super-strength or a poisonous rogue batch.

Three of the men who died were from the East End of Newcastle. The latest victim, who died of a suspected drugs overdose on Sunday, was from Cowgate, in the west of the city.

The 20-year-old was found collapsed at a relative's home. All died within days of each other.