Image copyright
West Midlands Fire Service
Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus pulled two men from the blaze
A man who was rescued from a fire at a cannabis factory has died in hospital.
Police believe the man, 43, and another man who was also pulled from the fire at an industrial unit in Dudley, had been trafficked and could not get out.
“The unit, used to grow cannabis on an industrial scale, was locked meaning these men had no way to escape the fire,” West Midlands Police said.
The blaze at Premier Trading Estate, Leys Road, was discovered at about 19:30 BST on Thursday.
The victim died in hospital on Friday afternoon and a post-mortem examination will take place to establish the cause of death.
The other man, aged in his 20s, has since been discharged from hospital.
The force said it believed both men had been “trafficked to the UK from abroad and were effectively being held against their will”.
Det Insp Jim Mahon, from force CID, said a drone was flying over the unit when the fire broke out and he appealed to the drone’s owner to contact police as “the footage recorded may hold vital information in our investigation”.
“We are urgently appealing for anyone with information about who is involved in exploiting these men, and involved in the set up, to contact us.”
Mr Mahon said in order to make the site safe and recover evidence, power has been suspended to the trading estate.
Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]
