The Reasons Our Team Went Undercover to Reveal Crime in the Kurdish Population

A pair of Kurdish men consented to work covertly to expose a organization behind unlawful High Street enterprises because the criminals are negatively affecting the standing of Kurds in the Britain, they say.

The two, who we are referring to as Saman and Ali, are Kurdish investigators who have both resided lawfully in the UK for a long time.

Investigators uncovered that a Kurdish-linked crime network was managing convenience stores, hair salons and car washes the length of Britain, and wanted to discover more about how it functioned and who was taking part.

Prepared with hidden cameras, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no right to work, seeking to buy and manage a mini-mart from which to trade illegal cigarettes and vapes.

They were able to uncover how straightforward it is for a person in these circumstances to start and manage a business on the High Street in plain sight. Those involved, we found, compensate Kurds who have UK citizenship to register the enterprises in their identities, helping to fool the government agencies.

Ali and Saman also managed to discreetly document one of those at the centre of the operation, who stated that he could eliminate official fines of up to £60k encountered those using illegal workers.

"I sought to contribute in revealing these illegal activities [...] to say that they don't represent our community," explains Saman, a ex- asylum seeker himself. Saman entered the UK without authorization, having fled Kurdistan - a area that straddles the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not internationally recognised as a country - because his life was at danger.

The reporters recognize that disagreements over unauthorized immigration are significant in the UK and explain they have both been worried that the inquiry could worsen hostilities.

But Ali says that the unauthorized employment "negatively affects the entire Kurdish population" and he feels compelled to "bring it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Separately, the journalist mentions he was anxious the coverage could be seized upon by the radical right.

He states this especially impressed him when he discovered that extreme right activist Tommy Robinson's national unity rally was happening in the capital on one of the weekends he was operating secretly. Banners and banners could be spotted at the rally, displaying "we demand our country back".

Both journalists have both been observing online feedback to the exposé from within the Kurdish-origin community and say it has sparked intense frustration for some. One social media comment they found stated: "In what way can we identify and locate [the undercover reporters] to harm them like animals!"

One more demanded their relatives in Kurdistan to be harmed.

They have also encountered accusations that they were informants for the British authorities, and traitors to other Kurdish people. "We are not spies, and we have no desire of damaging the Kurdish-origin community," Saman says. "Our goal is to reveal those who have damaged its image. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish heritage and profoundly worried about the behavior of such persons."

Most of those applying for asylum state they are fleeing political persecution, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a refugee support organization, a non-profit that supports refugees and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the situation for our undercover reporter Saman, who, when he initially came to the United Kingdom, experienced challenges for years. He states he had to survive on under twenty pounds a per week while his refugee application was considered.

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

"Realistically saying, this is not enough to support a acceptable lifestyle," explains Mr Avicil from the RWCA.

Because asylum seekers are largely prohibited from employment, he thinks numerous are susceptible to being exploited and are practically "obligated to labor in the illegal sector for as low as £3 per hourly rate".

A spokesperson for the government department stated: "The government make no apology for refusing to grant asylum seekers the authorization to be employed - doing so would create an reason for individuals to migrate to the United Kingdom illegally."

Asylum cases can take a long time to be decided with almost a 33% taking over 12 months, according to government statistics from the late March this current year.

Saman states working without authorization in a vehicle cleaning service, hair salon or mini-mart would have been extremely simple to achieve, but he told us he would not have done that.

Nevertheless, he says that those he met laboring in illegal convenience stores during his work seemed "confused", especially those whose asylum claim has been rejected and who were in the legal challenge.

"These individuals expended all their funds to travel to the UK, they had their asylum rejected and now they've lost their entire investment."

Ali acknowledges that these people seemed desperate.

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