Detectives stormed a brothel 500 metres away from Croydon police station after receiving information that trafficked women were being held there against their will.

The raid in Park Lane came after a sex worker was taped claiming she had been trafficked and was being forced to work as a prostitute - right under the noses of police.

The brothel was busted but officers were unable to pursue charges of trafficking because the woman was too scared to give evidence.

She has since been helped by outside agencies who are believed to have safely sent her back to her home country of Estonia in the past week.

A second raid is thought to have been executed in Raynes Park at around the same time - believed to be connected with the Croydon brothel.

The raids came about following research carried out by the organisation Croydon Community Against Trafficking (CCAT) who have been monitoring brothels they suspect of using trafficked women.

This is the second time in two years police have used intelligence gathered by CCAT to raid the Park Lane brothel as part of Operation Pentameter - the Met Police unit specialising in trafficking and sexual exploitation.

A spokesman from CCAT said: "This latest closure, of a brothel we have been specifically aware of for more than two years, and have reported to local authorities previously, is a place that we have long believed to be hiding and pimping enslaved women.

"The closure of this brothel and release' of the women being forced to work there, is a vindication of our research and tenacious petitioning to local authorities against the tolerance of traffickers who have been allowed to settle in our borough.

"Most importantly though, this closure means women who were trapped in a situation where they were being enslaved and exploited, are now free."

An Operation Pentameter spokesman said: "From what we understand a television company had been inside the premises filming. Based on that information officers raided a property on January 10.

"The woman in question did not want our assistance. We spoke to the people who were working there and nobody was seeking police assistance. A man was arrested and bailed to return to a police station. No charges have been brought yet."

A television company is thought to have sent a man into the establishment undercover at the beginning of this month as part of its investigations into the sex trafficking trade in Croydon.

While there he secretly filmed a woman allegedly admitting she had been trafficked and forced into sex slavery.

Based on this information officers from Operation Pentameter raided the property on January 10.

A police source, who did not want to be identified, added: "The girl was terrified - she did not want to be a witness so that's why the police could not provide her with support services.

"She was offered more help, which she did not accept. She was scared and did not know who to trust. I believe she has since been taken back to her home in Estonia.

"There were five girls believed to be in there and the guy may face charges of controlled prostitution. For the police to secure a trafficking charge they need to secure a witness which, in this case, was not possible."

What do you think? Do you suspect you are living near a brothel using trafficked women? Are you a British sex worker who is appalled at the trafficking industry? Have you used a brothel but were unaware the women could have been trafficked? Contact the newsroom on 020 8330 9556, email:kmcqueeney@london.newsquest.co.uk