Why Our Team Went Covert to Uncover Crime in the Kurdish-origin Community

Two Kurdish-background individuals decided to operate secretly to expose a operation behind illegal main street enterprises because the wrongdoers are causing harm the standing of Kurds in the United Kingdom, they state.

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

Investigators discovered that a Kurdish-linked criminal operation was running convenience stores, hair salons and vehicle cleaning services across Britain, and aimed to discover more about how it operated and who was taking part.

Equipped with hidden recording devices, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish asylum seekers with no permission to be employed, attempting to buy and manage a mini-mart from which to trade contraband tobacco products and vapes.

They were successful to reveal how easy it is for someone in these circumstances to establish and run a enterprise on the High Street in plain sight. Those involved, we learned, compensate Kurdish individuals who have UK citizenship to register the enterprises in their names, enabling to mislead the officials.

Ali and Saman also were able to covertly document one of those at the centre of the organization, who stated that he could erase government penalties of up to £60k encountered those hiring illegal workers.

"Personally sought to contribute in uncovering these unlawful operations [...] to declare that they don't speak for us," says Saman, a ex- asylum seeker personally. The reporter came to the UK illegally, having fled the Kurdish region - a region that straddles the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not officially recognized as a country - because his safety was at threat.

The reporters admit that conflicts over illegal migration are significant in the United Kingdom and say they have both been anxious that the inquiry could worsen conflicts.

But Ali states that the illegal employment "negatively affects the entire Kurdish-origin population" and he considers obligated to "expose it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Furthermore, Ali explains he was concerned the publication could be exploited by the radical right.

He explains this notably affected him when he discovered that extreme right activist a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom rally was occurring in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating secretly. Banners and flags could be seen at the gathering, displaying "we want our nation back".

Saman and Ali have both been observing online feedback to the exposé from within the Kurdish population and explain it has sparked intense anger for some. One Facebook message they observed read: "How can we identify and track [the undercover reporters] to harm them like dogs!"

Another demanded their relatives in Kurdistan to be attacked.

They have also seen allegations that they were informants for the British authorities, and betrayers to other Kurdish people. "We are not spies, and we have no intention of harming the Kurdish-origin community," one reporter states. "Our aim is to reveal those who have compromised its image. We are proud of our Kurdish identity and profoundly concerned about the behavior of such persons."

The majority of those applying for refugee status state they are fleeing political oppression, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a refugee support organization, a non-profit that helps refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the scenario for our undercover reporter Saman, who, when he initially arrived to the United Kingdom, faced difficulties for many years. He explains he had to survive on under twenty pounds a week while his asylum claim was reviewed.

Refugee applicants now are provided approximately £49 a per week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in accommodation which includes meals, according to Home Office guidance.

"Honestly saying, this is not adequate to maintain a acceptable existence," states Mr Avicil from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are largely prohibited from working, he thinks a significant number are open to being manipulated and are effectively "compelled to work in the black sector for as low as £3 per hourly rate".

A official for the Home Office stated: "The government do not apologize for not granting refugee applicants the right to be employed - doing so would generate an reason for people to travel to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Asylum cases can take years to be decided with nearly a third taking more than a year, according to government figures from the late March this year.

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

Nonetheless, he explains that those he encountered working in illegal mini-marts during his investigation seemed "confused", especially those whose refugee application has been refused and who were in the legal challenge.

"They used their entire money to travel to the United Kingdom, they had their refugee application rejected and now they've lost their entire investment."

Ali acknowledges that these people seemed hopeless.

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