Why Our Team Chose to Go Undercover to Expose Crime in the Kurdish Population

Two Kurdish individuals agreed to operate secretly to reveal a network behind illegal commercial establishments because the wrongdoers are causing harm the standing of Kurds in the Britain, they explain.

The pair, who we are calling Saman and Ali, are Kurdish journalists who have both resided legally in the UK for a long time.

The team found that a Kurdish-linked crime network was managing small shops, barbershops and vehicle cleaning services throughout the United Kingdom, and aimed to find out more about how it operated and who was participating.

Armed with covert recording devices, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no permission to work, looking to buy and operate a mini-mart from which to sell contraband tobacco products and vapes.

They were successful to reveal how straightforward it is for someone in these circumstances to establish and run a enterprise on the High Street in public view. The individuals involved, we found, compensate Kurdish individuals who have UK citizenship to legally establish the businesses in their identities, enabling to fool the officials.

Ali and Saman also succeeded to secretly record one of those at the heart of the network, who claimed that he could remove government fines of up to £60k encountered those employing unauthorized laborers.

"I sought to contribute in uncovering these illegal operations [...] to loudly proclaim that they don't represent us," explains one reporter, a ex- refugee applicant himself. Saman entered the UK without authorization, having escaped from Kurdistan - a area that spans the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not globally acknowledged as a nation - because his safety was at risk.

The investigators acknowledge that tensions over illegal migration are elevated in the UK and state they have both been concerned that the inquiry could inflame hostilities.

But Ali says that the unauthorized working "harms the entire Kurdish population" and he considers obligated to "expose it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Furthermore, Ali mentions he was worried the coverage could be exploited by the radical right.

He explains this notably impressed him when he realized that far-right activist Tommy Robinson's national unity rally was taking place in London on one of the weekends he was working undercover. Signs and flags could be observed at the protest, showing "we demand our country returned".

Saman and Ali have both been monitoring online response to the investigation from inside the Kurdish-origin community and say it has sparked intense anger for certain individuals. One Facebook comment they found read: "How can we find and track [the undercover reporters] to attack them like dogs!"

One more demanded their relatives in Kurdistan to be harmed.

They have also read claims that they were informants for the UK authorities, and betrayers to fellow Kurdish people. "Both of us are not informants, and we have no intention of harming the Kurdish-origin population," Saman states. "Our goal is to uncover those who have compromised its image. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish-origin heritage and extremely worried about the behavior of such individuals."

Most of those applying for refugee status state they are escaping political oppression, according to an expert from the a charitable organization, a non-profit that assists asylum seekers and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the case for our undercover journalist one investigator, who, when he initially came to the UK, faced difficulties for years. He says he had to live on under £20 a week while his refugee application was considered.

Refugee applicants now get approximately forty-nine pounds a per week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in shelter which provides meals, according to Home Office policies.

"Realistically stating, this isn't adequate to maintain a respectable existence," states Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because refugee applicants are mostly prohibited from working, he thinks a significant number are susceptible to being taken advantage of and are essentially "compelled to labor in the unofficial market for as low as £3 per hourly rate".

A official for the authorities said: "We make no apology for not granting refugee applicants the authorization to work - granting this would generate an motivation for people to travel to the United Kingdom illegally."

Refugee cases can require a long time to be processed with almost a 33% requiring over a year, according to government statistics from the end of March this current year.

Saman explains being employed illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, hair salon or mini-mart would have been very easy to achieve, but he told the team he would not have engaged in that.

However, he says that those he met working in unauthorized convenience stores during his work seemed "lost", notably those whose refugee application has been rejected and who were in the appeals process.

"They expended all of their money to migrate to the United Kingdom, they had their refugee application denied and now they've sacrificed everything."

Ali acknowledges that these individuals seemed desperate.

"When [they] say you're forbidden to work - but also [you]