Why We Chose to Go Undercover to Uncover Criminal Activity in the Kurdish Community

Two Kurdish-background individuals consented to go undercover to expose a organization behind unlawful commercial businesses because the lawbreakers are causing harm the image of Kurdish people in the United Kingdom, they state.

The two, who we are calling Saman and Ali, are Kurdish journalists who have both resided legally in the UK for many years.

The team uncovered that a Kurdish-linked crime network was running small shops, hair salons and car washes throughout Britain, and sought to discover more about how it operated and who was participating.

Armed with hidden recording devices, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no authorization to be employed, seeking to acquire and manage a small shop from which to distribute illegal cigarettes and vapes.

The investigators were successful to discover how straightforward it is for an individual in these conditions to establish and operate a enterprise on the commercial area in full view. Those participating, we found, compensate Kurds who have British citizenship to legally establish the enterprises in their identities, assisting to fool the government agencies.

Ali and Saman also succeeded to covertly record one of those at the core of the organization, who claimed that he could erase government fines of up to sixty thousand pounds imposed on those employing unauthorized workers.

"Personally aimed to contribute in exposing these unlawful activities [...] to say that they don't characterize us," states one reporter, a ex- refugee applicant himself. Saman came to the country illegally, having fled the Kurdish region - a territory that covers the borders of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not internationally recognised as a state - because his well-being was at threat.

The reporters admit that disagreements over illegal migration are high in the United Kingdom and say they have both been worried that the probe could worsen hostilities.

But Ali says that the illegal employment "damages the whole Kurdish-origin population" and he feels driven to "bring it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Additionally, Ali mentions he was anxious the reporting could be seized upon by the radical right.

He explains this especially impressed him when he noticed that far-right campaigner a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom rally was happening in the capital on one of the weekends he was working undercover. Banners and banners could be spotted at the protest, displaying "we want our country returned".

The reporters have both been tracking online reaction to the investigation from inside the Kurdish community and explain it has sparked significant frustration for certain individuals. One Facebook message they found read: "In what way can we find and track [the undercover reporters] to kill them like dogs!"

One more urged their relatives in the Kurdish region to be slaughtered.

They have also seen allegations that they were informants for the British government, and traitors to fellow Kurdish people. "We are not spies, and we have no desire of harming the Kurdish-origin population," Saman explains. "Our aim is to expose those who have damaged its standing. We are honored of our Kurdish-origin heritage and deeply troubled about the behavior of such individuals."

Most of those applying for refugee status claim they are escaping political persecution, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a charitable organization, a organization that assists refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the scenario for our covert journalist Saman, who, when he first came to the United Kingdom, experienced challenges for years. He explains he had to live on less than £20 a week while his refugee application was reviewed.

Refugee applicants now get approximately forty-nine pounds a per week - or £9.95 if they are in accommodation which provides meals, according to Home Office policies.

"Practically saying, this is not sufficient to support a respectable existence," says Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because asylum seekers are largely prohibited from employment, he feels many are open to being taken advantage of and are practically "forced to work in the illegal economy for as low as three pounds per hour".

A spokesperson for the Home Office stated: "The government are unapologetic for refusing to grant refugee applicants the authorization to work - doing so would create an motivation for people to travel to the UK without authorization."

Asylum applications can take years to be processed with approximately a one-third taking over 12 months, according to official figures from the late March this year.

The reporter states being employed without authorization in a car wash, barbershop or convenience store would have been very straightforward to accomplish, but he informed us he would not have done that.

Nonetheless, he states that those he encountered working in unauthorized convenience stores during his work seemed "lost", notably those whose refugee application has been denied and who were in the appeals process.

"These individuals expended their entire funds to come to the United Kingdom, they had their refugee application denied and now they've lost their entire investment."

The other reporter concurs that these individuals seemed desperate.

"When [they] declare you're forbidden to work - but also [you]