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A 29-year-old man faces several drug charges after six people in the ByWard Market suffered “serious medical complications” Wednesday from smoking what police have described as tainted crack cocaine.

The man was arrested after officers witnessed a drug deal on George Street between Cumberland and Dalhousie streets, Ottawa police said Thursday.

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A short time after the arrest, five people reported reactions from the drug, police said.

J.P. Trottier, an Ottawa Paramedic Service spokesman, said four patients were taken to hospital in critical condition. Two were blue in the face and unconscious when paramedics arrived. Paramedics also treated two people in serious condition.

Acting Staff Sgt. Ian McDonell, the officer in charge of the drug unit, said that by the time investigators got to the hospital, all of the patients had been upgraded to stable condition.

Late Wednesday, police issued a warning that bad drugs were being sold and urged anyone having trouble breathing or other problems to call 911.