Why Our Team Went Undercover to Reveal Crime in the Kurdish-origin Population

Two Kurdish-background men agreed to go undercover to expose a operation behind illegal main street enterprises because the lawbreakers are negatively affecting the reputation of Kurdish people in the United Kingdom, they explain.

The two, who we are referring to as Saman and Ali, are Kurdish-origin journalists who have both resided lawfully in the United Kingdom for many years.

Investigators discovered that a Kurdish criminal operation was operating convenience stores, barbershops and vehicle cleaning services across Britain, and sought to learn more about how it functioned and who was participating.

Prepared with secret recording devices, Ali and Saman presented themselves as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no right to work, looking to acquire and run a small shop from which to sell illegal cigarettes and vapes.

They were successful to uncover how straightforward it is for a person in these situations to establish and operate a commercial operation on the High Street in full view. Those participating, we discovered, compensate Kurds who have British citizenship to legally establish the operations in their names, assisting to mislead the government agencies.

Saman and Ali also managed to discreetly film one of those at the centre of the organization, who claimed that he could erase official penalties of up to £60k encountered those employing illegal employees.

"Personally wanted to participate in uncovering these illegal practices [...] to declare that they don't characterize us," says Saman, a former asylum seeker personally. Saman came to the United Kingdom without authorization, having fled Kurdistan - a area that spans the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not globally acknowledged as a nation - because his safety was at threat.

The reporters acknowledge that disagreements over unauthorized migration are elevated in the United Kingdom and explain they have both been anxious that the probe could worsen tensions.

But Ali explains that the illegal labor "damages the whole Kurdish-origin population" and he feels compelled to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Separately, the journalist says he was worried the publication could be used by the far-right.

He explains this notably struck him when he discovered that radical right campaigner Tommy Robinson's national unity rally was occurring in London on one of the weekends he was operating secretly. Banners and flags could be observed at the rally, showing "we want our country returned".

Both journalists have both been tracking social media response to the inquiry from inside the Kurdish community and report it has sparked strong frustration for some. One Facebook post they spotted said: "How can we identify and track [the undercover reporters] to harm them like animals!"

A different urged their families in the Kurdish region to be attacked.

They have also encountered allegations that they were spies for the UK authorities, and betrayers to other Kurdish people. "We are not informants, and we have no desire of damaging the Kurdish population," one reporter explains. "Our goal is to reveal those who have compromised its reputation. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish-origin heritage and extremely troubled about the activities of such people."

Most of those seeking asylum state they are escaping politically motivated persecution, according to an expert from the a charitable organization, a charity that assists refugees and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the scenario for our covert reporter Saman, who, when he first arrived to the United Kingdom, faced difficulties for years. He says he had to survive on under twenty pounds a week while his asylum claim was considered.

Asylum seekers now receive approximately forty-nine pounds a week - or £9.95 if they are in shelter which includes food, according to government guidance.

"Honestly saying, this is not adequate to sustain a dignified lifestyle," explains Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because refugee applicants are mostly restricted from working, he thinks numerous are open to being taken advantage of and are practically "forced to labor in the unofficial market for as low as £3 per hour".

A representative for the authorities stated: "We are unapologetic for refusing to grant refugee applicants the authorization to work - doing so would generate an incentive for people to migrate to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Refugee applications can take multiple years to be decided with almost a third requiring over a year, according to official data from the spring this year.

The reporter says working illegally in a car wash, barbershop or convenience store would have been very straightforward to accomplish, but he told the team he would not have engaged in that.

Nevertheless, he states that those he met laboring in unauthorized convenience stores during his work seemed "confused", particularly those whose asylum claim has been denied and who were in the legal challenge.

"They expended their entire money to come to the UK, they had their refugee application rejected and now they've sacrificed all they had."

The other reporter concurs that these individuals seemed in dire straits.

"If [they] declare you're forbidden to work - but additionally [you]