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

Two Kurdish men decided to work covertly to expose a operation behind unlawful main street establishments because the lawbreakers are negatively affecting the image of Kurdish people in the United Kingdom, they explain.

The two, who we are referring to as Saman and Ali, are Kurdish-origin investigators who have both resided legally in the UK for many years.

Investigators found that a Kurdish crime network was managing mini-marts, hair salons and vehicle cleaning services the length of the United Kingdom, and aimed to discover more about how it worked and who was involved.

Equipped with secret recording devices, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no authorization to be employed, attempting to acquire and run a small shop from which to distribute illegal 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 enterprise on the main street in full view. Those involved, we learned, compensate Kurdish individuals who have British citizenship to register the operations in their names, assisting to deceive the officials.

Saman and Ali also managed to discreetly film one of those at the core of the operation, who asserted that he could eliminate official sanctions of up to £60k imposed on those employing illegal laborers.

"Personally wanted to participate in exposing these illegal operations [...] to loudly proclaim that they do not speak for us," states Saman, a former asylum seeker personally. The reporter entered the United Kingdom without authorization, having fled the Kurdish region - a territory that straddles the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not globally acknowledged as a nation - because his safety was at danger.

The reporters recognize that conflicts over unauthorized immigration are elevated in the United Kingdom and explain they have both been worried that the inquiry could inflame conflicts.

But the other reporter says that the unauthorized labor "harms the entire Kurdish-origin community" and he considers obligated to "bring it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Furthermore, the journalist says he was anxious the coverage could be exploited by the extreme right.

He explains this notably struck him when he noticed that extreme right activist a prominent activist's national unity protest was taking place in the capital on one of the weekends he was working secretly. Banners and flags could be spotted at the gathering, showing "we want our nation back".

Both journalists have both been tracking online response to the exposé from within the Kurdish-origin community and explain it has generated significant outrage for some. One social media post they observed stated: "How can we find and track [the undercover reporters] to attack them like dogs!"

One more demanded their families in the Kurdish region to be attacked.

They have also seen accusations that they were agents for the British authorities, and traitors to fellow Kurdish people. "We are not informants, and we have no intention of damaging the Kurdish community," Saman says. "Our goal is to expose those who have damaged its reputation. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish-origin heritage and deeply worried about the behavior of such persons."

The majority of those applying for refugee status state they are fleeing politically motivated discrimination, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a charitable organization, a charity that helps asylum seekers and refugee applicants in the United Kingdom.

This was the case for our undercover journalist one investigator, who, when he initially arrived to the UK, experienced challenges for years. He states he had to live on less than twenty pounds a per week while his asylum claim was processed.

Asylum seekers now get approximately forty-nine pounds a week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in housing which provides meals, according to government guidance.

"Honestly stating, this is not enough to support a acceptable existence," explains the expert from the RWCA.

Because asylum seekers are generally prohibited from working, he feels many are susceptible to being exploited and are practically "compelled to work in the illegal economy for as low as £3 per hour".

A representative for the Home Office stated: "We make no apology for not granting asylum seekers the right to work - granting this would create an reason for individuals to come to the UK illegally."

Asylum cases can require a long time to be processed with approximately a one-third taking more than one year, according to official figures from the late March this year.

The reporter says working without authorization in a vehicle cleaning service, hair salon or convenience store would have been extremely straightforward to accomplish, but he informed the team he would not have engaged in that.

Nonetheless, he says that those he encountered working in illegal convenience stores during his work seemed "confused", notably those whose refugee application has been rejected and who were in the appeals process.

"These individuals used their entire money to travel to the UK, they had their asylum rejected and now they've sacrificed all they had."

The other reporter concurs that these people seemed hopeless.

"When [they] state you're prohibited to be employed - but also [you]