HOT on the heels of last week's shocking revelations of a Thai sex slave brothel in Wanstead High Street, a leading Met Police vice officer has told the Guardian that prostitution is rife in the area.

Atchara Nualpenyai, of Perth Road, Gants Hill, was jailed for six-and-a-half years for forcing young women to pay off massive debts by selling themselves in a seedy flat above the Chicken Spot fast food restaurant.

And Det Insp Kevin Hyland, of the Met's crack vice unit based at Charing Cross, says this is only the tip of the iceberg.

Twenty-nine perverts were arrested for curb crawling and four others for related offences in a four-day blitz against the sex trade in Romford Road, by Aldersbrook, last week.

And DI Hyland told the Guardian that a steep rise in prostitution has been noted in boroughs due to host the 2012 games – prompting the Met to introduce a special team to address the trend.

He said: “We know that [prostitution] is on the increase as the operation demonstrated and it's certainly very prevalent at the moment.

“Generally people trafficking is not linked to street crime but the more lucrative sort that takes place behind closed door such as we uncovered in Wanstead High Street.

“The building works and the increase in foreign casual labour could be a link. We are forming an Olympic Borough Advice Team regarding prostitution.

“It's going to be a partnership between the local authorities, Safer Neighbourhoods Teams and vice.

“The Sydney and Athens games all experience major problems with an increase in vice in the build up to the games.”

And DI Hyland did not think that it was so strange to find sex slaves working in leafy Wanstead.

He added: “It's not everywhere but it's quite prolific in London.

"There are some areas where you don't see it at all but there are others where there are big problems.”

“At the moment we are building a picture around these boroughs to address these issues.”