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Seven people have been charged in what police are calling a “first wave” of arrests after a two-month sting of street-level drug selling in the ByWard Market and Lowertown.

They’re among 21 people involved in selling drugs who have been identified by the street-crime unit in Project Mitigate, police said Monday. Investigators believe they were selling crack, amphetamines and opioids but say the analysis of many of the seized drugs is still pending.

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The arrests began Thursday when police raided an address on Murray Street near King Edward Avenue and seized crack cocaine. Two children, aged 18 months and three years, were taken into Children’s Aid Society custody.

Staff Sgt. Rick Carey of the drug and street crime units said it’s a follow-up to Project Flurry, which wrapped up in July.

“With the opening of supervised injection sites in the area, we received more complaints related to traffickers attending the area to profit from people’s addictions,” Carey said. “Unfortunately, we’ve seen too often the level of violence that can stem from this type of crime.”

Four men, whose ages range from 31 to 50, and two women, aged 31 and 25, were arrested in Ottawa, and a 28-year-old woman as arrested by police in Gatineau. They face charges that include possession for the purpose of trafficking, trafficking and possessing of the proceeds of crime under $5,000,

More arrests are coming, police said.

Anyone who needs information about drug use and the help available can go to stopoverdoseottawa.ca, police say.