A brothel has been closed and seven people arrested following a crackdown on prostitution in Hounslow and Hillingdon.

On Monday (March 30), police raided seven addresses across the two boroughs believed to be operating as brothels or used by gangs to store the illegal profits of the sex trade.

A brothel in Kingsley Avenue, Hounslow, was closed and 11 women found there were referred to partner agencies for help and support.

Officers also seized around £50,000 cash and criminal property including alcohol, laptops and designer clothes at an address in Hayre Drive, Southall.

They arrested five men and two women, all aged between their late-20s and mid-30s, on suspicion of various crimes including running brothels, money laundering and drugs offences. They are remained in police custody at stations in west London on Tuesday afternoon (March 31).

Following the operation, police seized roughly £60,000 cash, CS spray, a stun gun and criminal property valued at approximately £50,000.

The raids were supported by the human trafficking branch of the Met's Special Crime and Operations team, plus officers from Romania, from where a number of sex workers operating in London originate.

Acting Detective Chief Inspector Gurnam Singh Dahri, of Hounslow police station, said: "This is a fantastic result after a lot of hard work to catch those responsible for running brothels within our community and profiting from their illegal activities.

"It is always a concern that the girls working in these places have been trafficked into the UK with the promise of respectable jobs, only to have their passports taken and forced into prostitution.

"That is why we work closely with our partners to ensure these girls are offered help and support.

"Though we found no evidence to suggest human trafficking in this case, we want to send a clear message that police take matters like this extremely seriously.

"Any information we get of brothels operating within our boroughs will be acted upon."