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

Two Kurdish-background men agreed to operate secretly to expose a operation behind illegal commercial businesses because the criminals are causing harm the standing of Kurdish people in the UK, they say.

The two, who we are calling Ali and Saman, are Kurdish reporters who have both lived legally in the UK for many years.

Investigators uncovered that a Kurdish-linked crime network was running mini-marts, hair salons and car washes throughout Britain, and sought to discover more about how it operated and who was taking part.

Prepared with covert cameras, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish refugee applicants with no permission to be employed, looking to acquire and run a mini-mart from which to distribute unlawful tobacco products and vapes.

The investigators were able to discover how simple it is for a person in these conditions to establish and manage a enterprise on the High Street in plain sight. The individuals involved, we found, pay Kurds who have UK citizenship to register the enterprises in their names, enabling to mislead the government agencies.

Saman and Ali also managed to secretly film one of those at the core of the operation, who stated that he could eliminate government sanctions of up to £60,000 faced those using illegal employees.

"I sought to contribute in revealing these unlawful practices [...] to declare that they do not represent Kurdish people," explains one reporter, a ex- asylum seeker himself. The reporter came to the United Kingdom without authorization, having fled Kurdistan - a territory that spans the boundaries of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not officially recognized as a country - because his life was at danger.

The reporters recognize that tensions over unauthorized immigration are high in the UK and explain they have both been concerned that the investigation could worsen conflicts.

But the other reporter says that the unauthorized working "damages the entire Kurdish community" and he considers obligated to "expose it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Separately, Ali explains he was worried the reporting could be exploited by the far-right.

He explains this especially impressed him when he noticed that far-right activist Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom march was happening in the capital on one of the weekends he was working secretly. Banners and banners could be observed at the rally, displaying "we want our nation back".

Both journalists have both been monitoring online response to the investigation from within the Kurdish-origin population and say it has generated intense frustration for some. One Facebook message they found stated: "In what way can we identify and track [the undercover reporters] to kill them like animals!"

A different called for their families in Kurdistan to be attacked.

They have also encountered accusations that they were informants for the UK authorities, and traitors to other Kurds. "We are not spies, and we have no desire of hurting the Kurdish community," one reporter states. "Our objective is to uncover those who have damaged its image. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish identity and deeply worried about the behavior of such persons."

The majority of those seeking asylum state they are fleeing politically motivated persecution, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a refugee support organization, a non-profit that assists asylum seekers and asylum seekers in the United Kingdom.

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

Asylum seekers now receive approximately forty-nine pounds a week - or £9.95 if they are in shelter which provides food, according to official policies.

"Practically saying, this isn't sufficient to support a respectable existence," states the expert from the the organization.

Because refugee applicants are mostly prohibited from employment, he thinks numerous are open to being taken advantage of and are practically "forced to labor in the black sector for as little as £3 per hourly rate".

A official for the authorities commented: "We do not apologize for denying asylum seekers the right to work - doing so would establish an incentive for individuals to migrate to the UK illegally."

Asylum cases can take a long time to be resolved with nearly a 33% taking over 12 months, according to government data from the spring this year.

The reporter states working without authorization in a vehicle cleaning service, hair salon or convenience store would have been quite simple to do, but he explained to us he would never have done that.

Nevertheless, he says that those he interviewed employed in illegal mini-marts during his investigation seemed "lost", notably those whose refugee application has been rejected and who were in the legal challenge.

"These individuals spent all of their money to travel to the United Kingdom, they had their refugee application refused and now they've lost all they had."

The other reporter concurs that these individuals seemed desperate.

"When [they] state you're prohibited to be employed - but simultaneously [you]