Police have discovered a network of youths mostly from Bangladesh, India and the Middle East who are trafficking young girls in different countries.

While investigating a case of a Bangladeshi woman being held captive and tortured in India, Indian police arrested five Bangladeshis who went to India illegally, and none of them had passports or visas.

They used to traffic school and college girls by conning them with TikTok related promises, Tejgaon Division Deputy Commissioner of Police Md Shahidullah said at a press conference at his office in Shyamoli on Saturday.

“India will investigate the case in its way and we will investigate it our way. However, since the perpetrators are Bangladeshis, efforts are being made to bring them back to the country through coordination between the two countries. Efforts to bring the survivor back are also being made,” he said.

According to the First Information Report (FIR), the woman was trafficked to India after being promised that she would be sent to Dubai.

Members of the trafficking ring first take the girls to India. There the victims are tortured and sexually abused while they record the ordeal as well, reports The Business Standard.

They then use those photos and video footage to blackmail the victims, in case the victims try to escape.

The girls are later forced into prostitution, using those photographs and video footages as blackmail tools, said police.

Earlier, police in India’s Bengaluru arrested five Bangladeshis — four men and a woman — for allegedly raping and torturing a woman believed to be from Bangladesh.

“According to information revealed so far, all of them are part of the same group and believed to be from Bangladesh,” Bengaluru police Commissioner Kamal Pant told the Hindustan Times.

“The tortured woman was brought to India for trafficking. She is now in another state. A team of police has gone to take her to Bangalore. After taking her to Bangalore, her statement will be taken in the presence of the magistrate,” Pant tweeted.

The culprits brutalized the victim due to financial disputes and had brought her to India for human trafficking, he said.

According to media reports, Hridoy’s parents claimed they have had no contact with their son for four months.