Detectives investigating the murder of five prostitutes in Britain are tonight continuing to question two men.
Senior detectives and lawyers spent today analysing evidence gathered as the time left to question two suspects ticked away.
Police can hold Tom Stephens (37) until early tomorrow and Steve Wright (48) until Saturday morning.
Crown Prosecution Service sources said lawyers were closely liaising with detectives as they considered the options available.
Forensic teams were spending another day examining the homes of the two men as more than 500 officers worked on the investigation.
Mr Stephens was arrested at his home in Trimley St Martin, on Monday and Mr Wright at his home in Ipswich on Tuesday. Both were being held on suspicion of murdering the women.
Officers from more than 30 forces are involved in the inquiry - one of the biggest seen in the UK. They are analysing more than 10,000 pieces of information after public appeals and checking more than 10,000 hours of CCTV footage seized in and around Ipswich.
Mr Stephens, who worked at a Tesco store near Ipswich, was a former Norfolk special constable and a former taxi driver.
Mr Wright, who ran a pub in Norwich in the late 1980s, worked as a forklift truck driver until a few months ago. In recent weeks he is thought to have been working in a metal factory.
All five women were found dead near villages south of Ipswich during a 10-day period earlier this month.
The five women - Gemma Adams (25), Tania Nicol (19), Anneli Alderton (24), Paula Clennell (24), and Annette Nicholls (29) - were found dead near villages south of Ipswich during a 10-day period earlier this month.
Detectives in Norwich have ruled out a link between the Ipswich killings and the unsolved murders of two prostitutes and the disappearance of another to look for a link to the Suffolk serial killings.
Natalie Pearman (16) was found strangled on the outskirts of the city in 1992. Michelle Bettles (22) died in similar circumstances a decade later. A third Norwich prostitute, Kellie Pratt (29), disappeared from the red light area of the city six years ago and has never been found.
PA