The Reasons Our Team Went Covert to Expose Crime in the Kurdish-origin Population

A pair of Kurdish men agreed to work covertly to uncover a organization behind unlawful main street enterprises because the criminals are negatively affecting the reputation of Kurds in the United Kingdom, they say.

The two, who we are calling Saman and Ali, are Kurdish-origin reporters who have both resided legally in the United Kingdom for many years.

The team uncovered that a Kurdish-linked criminal operation was operating mini-marts, hair salons and car washes throughout Britain, and aimed to discover more about how it worked and who was participating.

Armed with covert recording devices, Ali and Saman posed as Kurdish refugee applicants with no right to work, seeking to buy and manage a small shop from which to sell unlawful tobacco products and vapes.

They were successful to uncover how straightforward it is for an individual in these conditions to set up and run a business on the main street in plain sight. Those involved, we found, pay Kurds who have British citizenship to register the enterprises in their identities, helping to fool the government agencies.

Saman and Ali also were able to covertly film one of those at the heart of the operation, who asserted that he could erase government penalties of up to sixty thousand pounds faced those hiring unauthorized employees.

"Personally wanted to participate in exposing these unlawful practices [...] to loudly proclaim that they do not characterize our community," states Saman, a ex- asylum seeker himself. Saman entered the country illegally, having escaped from Kurdistan - a region that spans the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not officially recognized as a nation - because his safety was at risk.

The reporters recognize that conflicts over unauthorized immigration are significant in the UK and say they have both been anxious that the probe could inflame conflicts.

But Ali says that the illegal labor "damages the whole Kurdish-origin population" and he believes obligated to "bring it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Furthermore, the journalist explains he was anxious the reporting could be used by the extreme right.

He explains this particularly impressed him when he noticed that far-right activist Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom protest was taking place in the capital on one of the weekends he was working undercover. Banners and banners could be spotted at the gathering, reading "we want our nation returned".

The reporters have both been observing social media reaction to the inquiry from within the Kurdish community and report it has caused significant anger for certain individuals. One Facebook comment they found stated: "In what way can we find and locate [the undercover reporters] to attack them like animals!"

Another called for their relatives in the Kurdish region to be attacked.

They have also encountered claims that they were informants for the British authorities, and traitors to fellow Kurds. "Both of us are not informants, and we have no intention of harming the Kurdish community," Saman explains. "Our goal is to uncover those who have compromised its standing. We are proud of our Kurdish-origin identity and deeply worried about the activities of such persons."

Most of those applying for asylum claim they are fleeing politically motivated discrimination, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a charitable organization, a charity that helps asylum seekers and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the case for our undercover reporter Saman, who, when he initially arrived to the United Kingdom, experienced challenges for years. He says he had to live on under £20 a week while his asylum claim was considered.

Asylum seekers now receive approximately £49 a week - or £9.95 if they are in shelter which provides meals, according to official regulations.

"Honestly saying, this is not sufficient to support a acceptable life," says Mr Avicil from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are generally prohibited from working, he thinks a significant number are vulnerable to being manipulated and are essentially "obligated to labor in the black economy for as low as £3 per hourly rate".

A official for the Home Office commented: "We are unapologetic for not granting asylum seekers the right to work - doing so would establish an incentive for individuals to migrate to the UK without authorization."

Refugee cases can require a long time to be resolved with nearly a one-third requiring over 12 months, according to official data from the end of March this current year.

Saman says being employed without authorization in a car wash, hair salon or convenience store would have been extremely straightforward to do, but he informed us he would not have engaged in that.

Nonetheless, he states that those he interviewed employed in unauthorized convenience stores during his work seemed "lost", particularly those whose asylum claim has been refused and who were in the appeal stage.

"They expended their entire savings to travel to the United Kingdom, they had their refugee application rejected and now they've forfeited their entire investment."

The other reporter acknowledges that these individuals seemed desperate.

"When [they] state you're not allowed to be employed - but also [you]