A group of about 20 con artists, thugs and pimps allegedly forced nearly 100 women to train as prostitutes last year before sending them to over 10 bathhouses, karaoke bars and foot massage parlors to work.

"We've already arrested the group," Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau spokesman Zi Xiangdong told the Global Times Monday. The gang was actually arrested in August, but Beijing Television (BTV) just brought the case to light on Sunday.

The suspected ringleader, a 32-year-old man from Northeast China named Xie Zhaobin, began posting job advertisements in small, no-name newspapers and on flyers in Fengtai and Daxing districts last year, claiming to be looking for receptionists and public relations workers. Each ad respondent went to meet Xie for an interview, oblivious to the danger.

Immediately after the interview process, the fake company's workers allegedly confis-cated the job hunters' ID cards before Xie raped them, a violation that he taped to use as leverage to force the women into working as prostitutes.

Some women escaped and informed the local police, Zi said, prompting them to inves-tigate.

Meanwhile, the rest of the women became a source of income for Xie, his girlfriend Niu Xueying and other pimps, around 20 people in total. The couple provided a "training course" for the women, even having sex in front of them to issue guidance before requiring them to pass a "hooker test."

The gang allegedly not only received agent fees from the bars and clubs, but also pocketed the sex workers' pay, making over 500,000 yuan ($74,713.53), according to the police's preliminary investigation.