A RISE in prostitution has reportedly been recorded in the five Olympic boroughs, including Waltham Forest.

The increase is believed to be connected to demand created by the 25,000 construction workers currently on the 2012 site.

Police raising awareness of people trafficking have released a photograph of a woman, later freed, being sold for £3,000 in Oxford Street.

Detective Chief Superintendent Richard Martin, the head of the Clubs and Vice Unit, told a national newspaper: "We have a number of ongoing operations to tackle trafficking.

"We have not seen a major rise in trafficking activity associated with the Games at present but if we do we will be able to deal with it quickly.

"We are trying to identify criminal networks which may try and exploit the Olympics.

"We do not want to see a repeat of what happened in Athens in 2004 when there was a 95 per increase in trafficked women."

The police in July announced they had secured £600,000 to fund a specialist unit to tackle the expected surge in sex trafficking.

Officers are working in countries from which women are trafficked, raising awareness of the dangers to women who are offered trips to the UK by "boyfriends" or employers."

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