Malaysian police in a raid in Taman Sungai Puyu yesterday rescued 27 Bangladeshi men who were victims of human trafficking, reports Malaysian state news agency Bernama.

They also arrested three men believed to be members of a human trafficking syndicate.

“The skinny and listless Bangladeshis aged between 20 and 40 were found in two houses that had been padlocked,” the report said quoting a police source.

The police took about 30 minutes to break the locks and open the doors, it added.

"We raided the two houses at about 2:00am and found 17 Bangladeshis in one house and 10 in the other," the source told Bernama.

Preliminary investigation showed that the men had been locked up in the houses by the syndicate for the last two months, it added.

The police source told Bernama that the investigation also showed that the men were each given a roti canai a day and tap water to drink and they were beaten up if they tried to escape.

"All the foreigners are believed to have entered the country legally but the syndicate that had promised them jobs locked them up and intended to sell them off to their potential employers," Malaysian police were quoted by Bernama.

Each of them was charged a certain fee to be brought into Malaysia and they were sold off for RM 3,000 each to potential employers, it added.

The three men arrested were in their 30s and were believed to be members of a human trafficking syndicate.

Penang CID chief Datuk Mohd Zakaria Ahmad declined comment when Bernama contacted him.