Why Our Team Went Undercover to Uncover Criminal Activity in the Kurdish-origin Population

Two Kurdish-background individuals consented to go undercover to reveal a network behind unlawful commercial establishments because the wrongdoers are negatively affecting the standing of Kurds in the United Kingdom, they state.

The pair, who we are calling Ali and Saman, are Kurdish-origin investigators who have both lived legally in the United Kingdom for years.

Investigators uncovered that a Kurdish-linked criminal operation was running mini-marts, hair salons and car washes throughout the UK, and sought to find out more about how it worked and who was involved.

Equipped with covert recording devices, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish asylum seekers with no right to be employed, looking to acquire and run a small shop from which to sell unlawful cigarettes and vapes.

The investigators were able to discover how easy it is for someone in these circumstances to start and operate a enterprise on the High Street in public view. The individuals participating, we discovered, pay Kurds who have British citizenship to register the operations in their identities, enabling to fool the government agencies.

Saman and Ali also were able to discreetly document one of those at the core of the operation, who stated that he could eliminate official fines of up to £60,000 encountered those hiring illegal laborers.

"Personally sought to participate in exposing these unlawful practices [...] to loudly proclaim that they don't speak for our community," states one reporter, a ex- asylum seeker personally. Saman entered the country illegally, having escaped from the Kurdish region - a area that spans the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not officially recognized as a state - because his well-being was at danger.

The journalists recognize that disagreements over illegal migration are elevated in the United Kingdom and state they have both been worried that the investigation could intensify conflicts.

But Ali says that the illegal working "damages the entire Kurdish population" and he considers compelled to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into the open".

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

He says this particularly impressed him when he noticed that extreme right activist a prominent activist's national unity march was occurring in the capital on one of the weekends he was operating secretly. Signs and flags could be observed at the protest, reading "we want our nation returned".

The reporters have both been monitoring online feedback to the exposé from inside the Kurdish-origin population and explain it has generated strong frustration for certain individuals. One social media post they spotted read: "How can we identify and locate [the undercover reporters] to attack them like dogs!"

One more urged their families in Kurdistan to be attacked.

They have also seen allegations that they were spies for the British authorities, and betrayers to fellow Kurdish people. "Both of us are not informants, and we have no desire of hurting the Kurdish-origin community," Saman says. "Our aim is to reveal those who have damaged its reputation. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish-origin heritage and extremely worried about the actions of such people."

Most of those applying for asylum state they are fleeing political discrimination, according to an expert from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a charity that supports refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the case for our covert journalist one investigator, who, when he first arrived to the UK, experienced challenges for years. He says he had to live on under £20 a per week while his asylum claim was reviewed.

Asylum seekers now get approximately forty-nine pounds a week - or £9.95 if they are in shelter which offers food, according to Home Office policies.

"Honestly saying, this isn't sufficient to sustain a dignified life," says the expert from the RWCA.

Because asylum seekers are largely prevented from working, he believes numerous are susceptible to being manipulated and are practically "forced to labor in the illegal market for as little as £3 per hourly rate".

A representative for the authorities commented: "We are unapologetic for not granting asylum seekers the authorization to work - granting this would establish an motivation for people to come to the UK illegally."

Refugee cases can require years to be resolved with approximately a 33% requiring over one year, according to government data from the spring this year.

Saman explains working illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, hair salon or convenience store would have been very straightforward to achieve, but he informed the team he would never have done that.

Nevertheless, he explains that those he met employed in unauthorized convenience stores during his research seemed "confused", especially those whose refugee application has been rejected and who were in the appeals process.

"They spent all of their savings to travel to the UK, they had their refugee application refused and now they've sacrificed their entire investment."

Ali concurs that these people seemed desperate.

"If [they] declare you're not allowed to be employed - but simultaneously [you]