Why Our Team Chose to Go Undercover to Expose Crime in the Kurdish Population

Two Kurdish individuals agreed to work covertly to reveal a network behind unlawful commercial enterprises because the lawbreakers are negatively affecting the image of Kurds in the Britain, they state.

The two, who we are calling Saman and Ali, are Kurdish-origin reporters who have both resided lawfully in the UK for a long time.

Investigators discovered that a Kurdish-linked illegal enterprise was operating mini-marts, barbershops and vehicle cleaning services across Britain, and wanted to find out more about how it functioned and who was participating.

Equipped with hidden recording devices, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish refugee applicants with no right to work, seeking to buy and operate a convenience store from which to distribute unlawful tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were able to uncover how simple it is for an individual in these conditions to set up and manage a commercial operation on the commercial area in plain sight. The individuals participating, we discovered, compensate Kurdish individuals who have UK citizenship to legally establish the enterprises in their names, assisting to mislead the officials.

Saman and Ali also managed to covertly record one of those at the core of the organization, who claimed that he could erase government fines of up to £60k faced those hiring illegal laborers.

"Personally sought to participate in uncovering these unlawful activities [...] to say that they do not speak for Kurdish people," states one reporter, a ex- refugee applicant personally. Saman entered the UK without authorization, having escaped from Kurdistan - a region that covers the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not officially recognized as a country - because his well-being was at threat.

The reporters admit that disagreements over illegal immigration are high in the UK and state they have both been anxious that the investigation could intensify hostilities.

But Ali states that the illegal working "negatively affects the whole Kurdish population" and he believes compelled to "bring it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Additionally, Ali explains he was concerned the publication could be exploited by the radical right.

He explains this especially impressed him when he noticed that radical right campaigner a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom march was taking place in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was working covertly. Placards and flags could be seen at the protest, displaying "we want our nation back".

Both journalists have both been tracking social media response to the inquiry from within the Kurdish-origin population and explain it has caused intense outrage for some. One Facebook post they observed stated: "In what way can we identify 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 read accusations that they were informants for the UK authorities, and traitors to other Kurdish people. "We are not informants, and we have no desire of hurting the Kurdish-origin community," one reporter says. "Our aim is to uncover those who have compromised its reputation. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish identity and deeply concerned about the behavior of such people."

Most of those applying for refugee status state they are fleeing politically motivated discrimination, according to an expert from the a charitable organization, a charity that supports asylum seekers and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the situation for our covert journalist Saman, who, when he first arrived to the United Kingdom, experienced challenges for years. He explains he had to live on under twenty pounds a per week while his asylum claim was processed.

Asylum seekers now receive approximately £49 a per week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in shelter which includes meals, according to Home Office policies.

"Realistically speaking, this isn't sufficient to support a acceptable life," states Mr Avicil from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are largely restricted from working, he thinks numerous are open to being taken advantage of and are effectively "forced to labor in the illegal economy for as little as £3 per hourly rate".

A representative for the government department said: "We make no apology for refusing to grant asylum seekers the permission to work - granting this would establish an incentive for individuals to come to the United Kingdom illegally."

Refugee applications can take multiple years to be processed with almost a 33% requiring more than a year, according to government figures from the late March this current year.

Saman explains working without authorization in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or convenience store would have been quite easy to achieve, but he told us he would never have done that.

However, he states that those he interviewed employed in illegal convenience stores during his investigation seemed "disoriented", notably those whose asylum claim has been rejected and who were in the appeals process.

"They spent their entire savings to migrate to the United Kingdom, they had their asylum rejected and now they've sacrificed their entire investment."

Ali concurs that these individuals seemed desperate.

"When [they] declare you're forbidden to be employed - but simultaneously [you]