The Reasons Our Team Went Undercover to Expose Criminal Activity in the Kurdish Population

A pair of Kurdish individuals decided to go undercover to reveal a organization behind unlawful High Street enterprises because the criminals are negatively affecting the image of Kurdish people in the Britain, they say.

The pair, 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 discovered that a Kurdish-linked criminal operation was operating convenience stores, hair salons and car washes throughout the United Kingdom, and sought to learn more about how it operated and who was taking part.

Prepared with hidden recording devices, Ali and Saman presented themselves as Kurdish refugee applicants with no authorization to work, seeking to buy and manage a small shop from which to sell illegal cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were able to reveal how straightforward it is for an individual in these situations to set up and operate a business on the commercial area in plain sight. Those participating, we found, pay Kurdish individuals who have UK residency to legally establish the operations in their names, helping to deceive the officials.

Ali and Saman also were able to covertly record one of those at the centre of the operation, who claimed that he could eliminate official sanctions of up to £60k encountered those using illegal employees.

"Personally wanted to contribute in uncovering these illegal activities [...] to loudly proclaim that they don't characterize our community," states Saman, a ex- refugee applicant himself. The reporter came to the country without authorization, having escaped from the Kurdish region - a territory that straddles the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not internationally recognised as a nation - because his life was at risk.

The reporters admit that disagreements over unauthorized immigration are significant in the UK and state they have both been concerned that the probe could intensify hostilities.

But Ali says that the illegal labor "damages the whole Kurdish population" and he considers obligated to "expose it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Additionally, Ali mentions he was anxious the publication could be seized upon by the far-right.

He states this notably affected him when he realized that far-right activist a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom rally was happening in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating secretly. Placards and flags could be seen at the rally, reading "we want our country returned".

Both journalists have both been tracking social media feedback to the exposé from inside the Kurdish-origin community and say it has caused strong frustration for some. One social media post they observed read: "How can we identify and locate [the undercover reporters] to kill them like animals!"

A different urged their families in the Kurdish region to be harmed.

They have also read claims that they were informants for the UK authorities, and betrayers to fellow Kurds. "We are not spies, and we have no desire of hurting the Kurdish population," Saman says. "Our goal is to uncover those who have damaged its reputation. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish identity and profoundly concerned about the behavior of such individuals."

Most of those applying for asylum state they are escaping political oppression, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a charity that assists asylum seekers and asylum seekers in the United Kingdom.

This was the scenario for our undercover journalist Saman, who, when he initially came to the UK, faced difficulties for years. He says he had to live on less than £20 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 accommodation which offers meals, according to official regulations.

"Realistically stating, this is not sufficient to sustain a respectable life," says the expert from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are largely restricted from working, he thinks many are open to being taken advantage of and are effectively "forced to labor in the black market for as low as three pounds per hour".

A representative for the Home Office stated: "The government do not apologize for refusing to grant asylum seekers the authorization to be employed - granting this would establish an incentive for individuals to come to the United Kingdom illegally."

Refugee applications can require multiple years to be processed with approximately a third requiring over 12 months, according to government figures from the late March this year.

The reporter says working without authorization in a car wash, barbershop or mini-mart would have been quite easy to do, but he told the team he would not have done that.

However, he states that those he met laboring in illegal mini-marts during his investigation seemed "lost", especially those whose refugee application has been refused and who were in the appeal stage.

"These individuals expended their entire money to migrate to the UK, they had their asylum rejected and now they've sacrificed everything."

The other reporter acknowledges that these people seemed desperate.

"If [they] say you're prohibited to be employed - but additionally [you]