Malaysia’s Immigration Department has arrested 23 people in Kuala Lumpur for allegedly operating a prostitution ring targeting Bangladeshi nationals with foreign women.

The Malaysian local media outlet The Sun reported the development on Thursday (August 20).

According to the report, the syndicate used social media to target Bangladeshis and recruit customers for prostitution services. Customers were reportedly charged up to 400 Malaysian ringgit per transaction.

Immigration Department Director-General Datuk Zakaria Shaban said raids were conducted on Tuesday at a residential building on Jalan Kuchai Lama and a commercial building on Jalan Gelugor following a tip-off. The locations had been under surveillance for two weeks before the raids.

A total of 23 people, including three Myanmar men, were detained. Among the women arrested were three Bangladeshis, 14 Indonesians, two Vietnamese and one Myanmar national. Preliminary investigations found that none of them had valid immigration documents.

Zakaria Shaban said a Bangladeshi man and a Thai woman were allegedly the masterminds of the syndicate. They reportedly kept the women’s passports in their possession and forced them into prostitution. A Malaysian man responsible for controlling and guarding the two premises was also arrested.

He said customers were charged 200 ringgit for 60 minutes at the residential premises, while the commercial premises charged between 260 and 400 ringgit for 90 minutes. The operation had reportedly been running for the past two months.