Kedah police found the Myanmar nationals in the house while investigating the murder of a Myanmar refugee, whose body was found on January 13, in rural Kubang Semang in central Seberang Perai.
The body of Abul Kassim Abdul Shukur, 40, who worked as a contract labourer, was found with injuries to the head and may have been strangled to death, according to police.
The police arrested two Myanmar men and one Bangladeshi, who were guarding the house, as well as five local people.
According to the newspaper, Penang Criminal Investigation Department Chief Datuk Mazlan Kesah said the murder could be linked to a dispute over the distribution of money from the trafficking of people brought into Malaysia.
He told media they were investigating the murder when then stumbled on the captive Myanmar nationals.
