Police cleared after 4 men died in locked cannabis mill fire
An investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has cleared three Greater Manchester Police officers of misconduct after four Vietnamese men died in a fire at Bismark House Mill in Derker, Oldham. The men - Uoc Van Nguyen (31), Cuong Van Chu (39), Duong Van Nguyen (29), and Nam Thanh Lee (21) - were found dead two months after the blaze when demolition workers discovered human remains. The IOPC found a senior officer's failure to disclose information about concerns for a man's welfare amounted to 'gross incompetence' but not misconduct. A coroner ruled the men were being exploited for criminal cannabis cultivation and were likely locked inside when the fire broke out, though their deaths couldn't have been prevented. The fire's cause remains undetermined.