Bangladeshi police are investigating how a group of 30 citizens sent to Russia on May 7 ended up serving with Russian forces in Ukraine. Officials said 20 members of the group were killed by Ukrainian drone strikes after allegedly being recruited under false promises of well-paid construction work.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported the case on Wednesday, October 14. Mohammad Asaduzzaman, commander of Bangladesh’s police Rapid Action Battalion, said three organizations were suspected of involvement in the disappearance and transfer of the recruits.

According to Asaduzzaman, the men had no previous military service and received only three weeks of training before reaching the front. Investigators are examining allegations that Russian troops exposed them to drone attacks in an effort to locate Ukrainian drone operators.

Two wounded men returned to Bangladesh and two others were being treated in Russian hospitals, while the remaining six were still at the front at the time of the announcement. Police detained two alleged recruiters and said they may have belonged to a network involving people from several countries.