Why Our Team Went Covert to Expose Crime in the Kurdish-origin Population

Two Kurdish individuals decided to operate secretly to expose a organization behind unlawful main street establishments because the criminals are causing harm the image of Kurds in the Britain, they state.

The pair, who we are referring to as Ali and Saman, are Kurdish-origin reporters who have both lived lawfully in the United Kingdom for years.

The team found that a Kurdish-linked criminal operation was operating small shops, barbershops and car washes across the UK, and aimed to discover more about how it functioned and who was participating.

Prepared with covert recording devices, Ali and Saman presented themselves as Kurdish asylum seekers with no right to work, looking to buy and run a convenience store from which to sell unlawful cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

They were able to uncover how straightforward it is for someone in these conditions to start and manage a business on the High Street in plain sight. The individuals participating, we found, compensate Kurdish individuals who have British citizenship to legally establish the operations in their names, helping to deceive the officials.

Saman and Ali also succeeded to discreetly document one of those at the centre of the organization, who asserted that he could erase government penalties of up to sixty thousand pounds imposed on those hiring unauthorized workers.

"Personally aimed to play a role in exposing these illegal activities [...] to loudly proclaim that they don't represent our community," states Saman, a ex- refugee applicant personally. Saman came to the country illegally, having fled the Kurdish region - a region that straddles the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not internationally recognised as a country - because his safety was at threat.

The reporters admit that conflicts over unauthorized migration are elevated in the UK and explain they have both been worried that the probe could worsen hostilities.

But the other reporter states that the illegal labor "negatively affects the entire Kurdish community" and he believes compelled to "bring it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Additionally, Ali mentions he was anxious the coverage could be seized upon by the radical right.

He says this notably struck him when he noticed that extreme right campaigner Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom march was occurring in London on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating covertly. Banners and banners could be seen at the rally, reading "we want our nation returned".

Saman and Ali have both been observing social media feedback to the exposé from within the Kurdish-origin community and report it has sparked strong anger for certain individuals. One Facebook comment they found read: "How can we locate and find [the undercover reporters] to attack them like animals!"

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

They have also read allegations that they were spies for the UK authorities, and betrayers to other Kurds. "We are not informants, and we have no intention of hurting the Kurdish community," Saman states. "Our aim is to expose those who have compromised its standing. We are proud of our Kurdish-origin identity and profoundly troubled about the behavior of such individuals."

Most of those applying for asylum say they are escaping politically motivated discrimination, according to an expert from the a refugee support organization, a organization that helps refugees and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the scenario for our undercover reporter one investigator, who, when he first came to the UK, faced difficulties for many years. He says he had to live on under £20 a per week while his refugee application was reviewed.

Asylum seekers now get approximately £49 a per week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in shelter which provides meals, according to government policies.

"Practically saying, this isn't enough to sustain a acceptable existence," states Mr Avicil from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are mostly restricted from employment, he believes a significant number are susceptible to being exploited and are practically "compelled to work in the illegal economy for as little as three pounds per hourly rate".

A spokesperson for the government department commented: "The government are unapologetic for not granting asylum seekers the authorization to be employed - granting this would generate an incentive for individuals to travel to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Asylum applications can require a long time to be resolved with almost a third requiring over one year, according to government data from the spring this year.

Saman explains working illegally in a car wash, hair salon or convenience store would have been extremely easy to do, but he informed the team he would never have participated in that.

Nevertheless, he says that those he interviewed laboring in illegal convenience stores during his research seemed "confused", notably those whose refugee application has been denied and who were in the appeal stage.

"These individuals used all their savings to travel to the United Kingdom, they had their asylum refused and now they've lost their entire investment."

Ali agrees that these individuals seemed hopeless.

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