Spate of 'alarming' weekend drug overdoses prompt police warning

London Police have issued a warning to drug users after a spate of suspected overdoses over the weekend, including one that left a man dead.

"The number is alarming," saidConst.Sandasha Bough. "Which is what prompted us to put out a public warning."

Police say eight people required emergency care between Friday and Sunday after taking drugs in six separate incidents.

In four of the incidents, patients told police they had taken fentanyl or heroin.

Bough said these incidentsonly accountsfor the number ofoverdoses reported to police.

"There could potentially be more overdoes that occurred over the weekend but those are the ones that our officers are aware of," she said.

"We just want to remind the public that you don't know what you're ingesting (and) you don't know what you're putting in your body when you're buying these drugs illegally."

According to the most recent statistics, 412 Ontarians died of opioid overdoses in the first six months of last year, an 11-per-cent increase from the previous year.