The pair, both in their twenties, were found dead in their rooms at the Ramada Jarvis hotel in Ayr on Wednesday.
They were seated in chairs opposite each other and it is thought equipment found in the room included at least one computer with a webcam.
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Hide AdA source at the hotel said: "It looks like this was meticulously planned. The room was tidy and they seemed to have set up a laptop so they didn't have to inject the drugs directly – they appear to have had a reasonable level of medical knowledge and skill.
"It also looked as if they had set up a camera to film what was happening."
The men, thought to be from Shetland and studying at Edinburgh University, arrived at the hotel on Tuesday.
When they missed their check-out time, a member of the hotel staff went to the room and found them dead.
Strathclyde Police and Ramada Jarvis refused to comment on the deaths. Edinburgh University said police were dealing with the matter.