The Reasons We Chose to Go Covert to Uncover Criminal Activity in the Kurdish-origin Population

Two Kurdish individuals decided to work covertly to expose a network behind illegal commercial businesses because the lawbreakers are damaging the reputation of Kurdish people in the Britain, they explain.

The two, who we are referring to as Saman and Ali, are Kurdish journalists who have both resided lawfully in the United Kingdom for a long time.

The team discovered that a Kurdish-linked illegal enterprise was operating mini-marts, barbershops and vehicle cleaning services the length of the United Kingdom, and aimed to discover more about how it worked and who was taking part.

Armed with secret cameras, Ali and Saman presented themselves as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no permission to work, looking to buy and run a small shop from which to trade unlawful cigarettes and vapes.

They were able to reveal how simple it is for a person in these circumstances to start and operate a enterprise on the commercial area in public view. Those involved, we discovered, compensate Kurdish individuals who have UK citizenship to register the businesses in their identities, assisting to deceive the officials.

Ali and Saman also succeeded to secretly film one of those at the core of the network, who claimed that he could erase official sanctions of up to £60,000 imposed on those using illegal employees.

"Personally sought to participate in uncovering these illegal operations [...] to declare that they don't speak for Kurdish people," states Saman, a ex- refugee applicant himself. Saman came to the United Kingdom illegally, having escaped from the Kurdish region - a region that spans the boundaries of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not officially recognized as a nation - because his well-being was at danger.

The investigators admit that conflicts over illegal migration are elevated in the United Kingdom and explain they have both been worried that the investigation could inflame conflicts.

But the other reporter states that the unauthorized labor "negatively affects the entire Kurdish-origin population" and he feels obligated to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Separately, the journalist says he was concerned the reporting could be seized upon by the far-right.

He states this especially affected him when he realized that far-right activist Tommy Robinson's national unity march was taking place in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating secretly. Signs and flags could be seen at the rally, reading "we want our nation back".

Both journalists have both been monitoring online feedback to the exposé from inside the Kurdish population and say it has generated significant anger for some. One Facebook message they observed said: "In what way can we locate and locate [the undercover reporters] to attack them like animals!"

A different urged their relatives in the Kurdish region to be harmed.

They have also seen allegations that they were agents for the British authorities, and betrayers to other Kurdish people. "We are not spies, and we have no intention of hurting the Kurdish-origin community," Saman explains. "Our goal is to expose those who have compromised its reputation. We are proud of our Kurdish heritage and deeply concerned about the actions of such individuals."

Most of those applying for asylum state they are escaping political oppression, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a charitable organization, a charity that supports refugees and refugee applicants in the United Kingdom.

This was the scenario for our undercover reporter Saman, who, when he first arrived to the United Kingdom, faced difficulties for years. He explains he had to live on less than £20 a week while his asylum claim was reviewed.

Refugee applicants now are provided approximately forty-nine pounds a week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in housing which provides food, according to Home Office guidance.

"Honestly saying, this is not adequate to sustain a acceptable lifestyle," says Mr Avicil from the RWCA.

Because asylum seekers are largely restricted from working, he thinks numerous are susceptible to being exploited and are practically "obligated to labor in the illegal market for as low as £3 per hourly rate".

A official for the Home Office commented: "The government make no apology for denying asylum seekers the authorization to be employed - doing so would establish an reason for individuals to migrate to the UK without authorization."

Refugee cases can require years to be processed with nearly a 33% taking more than a year, according to government figures from the late March this year.

The reporter states working without authorization in a car wash, barbershop or mini-mart would have been extremely simple to accomplish, but he told us he would not have engaged in that.

Nonetheless, he says that those he encountered employed in illegal convenience stores during his investigation seemed "confused", especially those whose refugee application has been refused and who were in the appeal stage.

"They spent their entire money to come to the United Kingdom, they had their refugee application denied and now they've lost all they had."

Ali acknowledges that these people seemed in dire straits.

"If [they] state you're prohibited to be employed - but additionally [you]