The British Metropolitan Police revealed that they had opened an investigation after the statements of Olympic and world champion Mo Farah in a BBC documentary, in which he said he was a victim of child trafficking.
Farah, 39, who has won several gold medals in athletics, said he was brought to Britain from Djibouti at the age of nine and forced to do housework in exchange for food.
“Specialized officers have launched an investigation and are currently analyzing and evaluating the available information,” the Metropolitan Police said in a statement, adding that the police had not received any direct reports of these events.
The Somali-born Farah noted that his name had changed to Mohamed Farah from Hussein Abdi Kahin in the fake travel documents used by a woman he had never met in order to bring him to Britain.
Once in Britain, the woman took him to her home in Hounslow, west London, and tore a piece of paper with the contact details of his relatives. The woman’s family did not allow him to go to school until he was 12 years old.
On his Instagram, Farah said of the documentary, which deals with his life story, “The decision to speak and produce the film was a difficult and emotional journey because I didn’t really understand what had happened to me. More details about my childhood.