BEIJING, Dec. 4 -- Chinese police said they have broken up a prostitution ring that used a messaging app to pool more than 1,000 pimps and prostitutes.

The public security department of south China's Guangdong Province said in a statement that 103 suspects had been detained since March this year, when police discovered the network based in Shenzhen.

The ring operates two chat rooms on WeChat, a popular instant messaging app, in which prostitutes, often described as models and actresses, posted their information and received "business notices" from "agents."

Police said the ring has spawned agency companies that promoted stardom, and offered golf and English courses to improve "quality" and price of the prostitutes.

The statement described several new features of the ring, including an "Internet Plus" operation model and its "unprecedented" ability to pool prostitution resources.