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

A pair of Kurdish individuals consented to work covertly to reveal a network behind illegal main street enterprises because the lawbreakers are negatively affecting the image of Kurdish people in the United Kingdom, they explain.

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

Investigators uncovered that a Kurdish crime network was managing small shops, hair salons and vehicle cleaning services throughout the UK, and aimed to learn more about how it operated and who was taking part.

Prepared with covert recording devices, Ali and Saman posed as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no right to be employed, seeking to acquire and operate a mini-mart from which to trade illegal cigarettes and vapes.

They were able to reveal how simple it is for an individual in these conditions to set up and manage a business on the main street in public view. Those involved, we learned, compensate Kurdish individuals who have UK residency to legally establish the businesses in their identities, assisting to deceive the government agencies.

Saman and Ali also were able to covertly film one of those at the centre of the network, who stated that he could eliminate government penalties of up to £60k faced those using unauthorized employees.

"I sought to participate in revealing these unlawful practices [...] to say that they don't represent us," says one reporter, a ex- asylum seeker himself. The reporter entered the country without authorization, having fled Kurdistan - a territory that covers the borders of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not globally acknowledged as a country - because his safety was at danger.

The journalists admit that conflicts over illegal migration are high in the UK and explain they have both been concerned that the inquiry could worsen tensions.

But the other reporter explains that the unauthorized working "damages the whole Kurdish-origin population" and he considers driven to "bring it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Additionally, Ali says he was worried the publication could be exploited by the extreme right.

He explains this notably impressed him when he noticed that extreme right campaigner a prominent activist's national unity rally was occurring in London on one of the weekends he was working secretly. Banners and banners could be spotted at the gathering, showing "we demand our nation returned".

Saman and Ali have both been tracking social media response to the investigation from inside the Kurdish-origin population and explain it has generated significant outrage for some. One social media message they spotted stated: "In what way can we identify and find [the undercover reporters] to kill them like animals!"

Another called for their relatives in the Kurdish region to be harmed.

They have also encountered claims that they were informants for the British authorities, and betrayers to fellow Kurds. "Both of us are not spies, and we have no intention of damaging the Kurdish community," Saman explains. "Our aim is to reveal those who have compromised its standing. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish-origin identity and deeply worried about the actions of such persons."

Most of those seeking asylum claim they are escaping politically motivated oppression, according to an expert from the a charitable organization, a charity that assists asylum seekers and refugee applicants in the United Kingdom.

This was the case for our undercover journalist Saman, who, when he initially arrived to the United Kingdom, struggled for many years. He says he had to survive on under £20 a per week while his refugee application was processed.

Asylum seekers now get approximately £49 a per week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in housing which offers meals, according to official guidance.

"Honestly speaking, this isn't enough to maintain a acceptable lifestyle," states Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because asylum seekers are mostly restricted from employment, he feels many are open to being exploited and are essentially "forced to labor in the illegal market for as low as £3 per hourly rate".

A representative for the authorities stated: "The government make no apology for not granting asylum seekers the permission to be employed - doing so would generate an reason for individuals to come to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Refugee applications can take multiple years to be resolved with approximately a one-third requiring more than 12 months, according to official statistics from the late March this year.

Saman states working without authorization in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or convenience store would have been quite easy to do, but he informed the team he would never have participated in that.

Nonetheless, he explains that those he interviewed employed in unauthorized mini-marts during his research seemed "confused", particularly those whose refugee application has been refused and who were in the appeals process.

"They expended their entire savings to travel to the United Kingdom, they had their asylum refused and now they've lost their entire investment."

The other reporter concurs that these people seemed hopeless.

"If [they] state you're forbidden to be employed - but also [you]