SOFIA, Bulgaria (AFP) — Dozens of people were rescued from two illegal care homes where they were subjected to brutal mistreatment, Bulgarian officials said Saturday.

Justice Minister Georgy Georgiev described the facilities as “houses of horrors” and officials described how victims were beaten, bound and sedated.

Some 75 people were removed from facilities in the east of the country, which the owners had converted into so-called health centers by offering “rooms for rent” for a little more than 400 euros a month.

The regional prosecutor’s office in the town of Stara Zagora said five people had been arrested and an investigation had begun into “kidnapping, violence and negligence.”

“According to testimonies, one older woman had not left the establishment for four years,” the office said in a statement.

“Another resident, who tried to flee, was caught, beaten and left unconscious,” the statement read.

The justice ministry added that some of those rescued had “their feet tied and were sedated” and were locked in rooms “without bedding, the window handles removed and cut off from the outside world.”

International organizations often criticize the poor state of health facilities in Bulgaria, the poorest country in the European Union.

The lack of facilities for older people has led to the development of illegal centers.

In November 2021, nine older people died in a fire at a nursing home near Varna and four others died in a similar incident in May 2022 at another facility in the same region.