The Reasons Our Team Went Undercover to Expose Criminal Activity in the Kurdish Community

Two Kurdish-background men decided to operate secretly to reveal a operation behind unlawful commercial establishments because the criminals are negatively affecting the reputation of Kurdish people in the Britain, they say.

The pair, who we are referring to as Ali and Saman, are Kurdish reporters who have both lived legally in the United Kingdom for a long time.

Investigators uncovered that a Kurdish-linked illegal enterprise was operating small shops, hair salons and car washes across the UK, and aimed to find out more about how it worked and who was participating.

Prepared with hidden recording devices, Ali and Saman presented themselves as Kurdish asylum seekers with no permission to work, attempting to purchase and manage a convenience store from which to distribute unlawful tobacco products and vapes.

They were successful to reveal how simple it is for an individual in these circumstances to set up and run a commercial operation on the commercial area in public view. Those participating, we found, pay Kurdish individuals who have British citizenship to register the businesses in their names, helping to fool the officials.

Ali and Saman also managed to secretly document one of those at the heart of the network, who stated that he could eliminate government penalties of up to £60,000 encountered those employing unauthorized employees.

"Personally sought to play a role in revealing these illegal activities [...] to say that they don't characterize us," states one reporter, a ex- asylum seeker himself. Saman came to the country without authorization, having fled the Kurdish region - a region that spans the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not officially recognized as a state - because his well-being was at risk.

The investigators recognize that tensions over unauthorized migration are high in the UK and say they have both been anxious that the investigation could inflame hostilities.

But the other reporter explains that the unauthorized labor "damages the entire Kurdish-origin population" and he feels obligated to "expose it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Separately, the journalist mentions he was anxious the coverage could be seized upon by the extreme right.

He states this notably affected him when he realized that extreme right campaigner Tommy Robinson's national unity rally was happening in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating undercover. Signs and flags could be spotted at the protest, displaying "we demand our nation returned".

Both journalists have both been monitoring online response to the inquiry from inside the Kurdish community and report it has generated intense outrage for certain individuals. One social media post they spotted stated: "How can we find and track [the undercover reporters] to harm them like animals!"

Another demanded their families in Kurdistan to be slaughtered.

They have also encountered allegations that they were agents for the UK government, and traitors to other Kurds. "Both of us are not informants, and we have no aim of hurting the Kurdish population," Saman says. "Our objective is to reveal those who have harmed its image. We are honored of our Kurdish-origin identity and deeply worried about the behavior of such people."

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

This was the situation for our covert reporter one investigator, who, when he initially came to the UK, faced difficulties for many years. He states he had to survive on less than £20 a week while his asylum claim was processed.

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

"Honestly saying, this is not sufficient to maintain a acceptable existence," says Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because refugee applicants are generally restricted from employment, he thinks a significant number are susceptible to being exploited and are effectively "obligated to work in the unofficial economy for as little as three pounds per hour".

A spokesperson for the government department commented: "The government do not apologize for refusing to grant refugee applicants the authorization to work - doing so would create an reason for people to migrate to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Refugee cases can require years to be processed with approximately a 33% requiring over a year, according to official data from the end of March this current year.

Saman states working illegally in a car wash, barbershop or mini-mart would have been very simple to accomplish, but he explained to us he would never have participated in that.

Nevertheless, he states that those he interviewed laboring in illegal mini-marts during his investigation seemed "disoriented", notably those whose refugee application has been denied and who were in the appeal stage.

"These individuals expended all their money to migrate to the United Kingdom, they had their refugee application rejected and now they've sacrificed all they had."

Ali concurs that these individuals seemed hopeless.

"If [they] state you're forbidden to work - but simultaneously [you]