The Reasons We Went Undercover to Reveal Criminal Activity in the Kurdish Population

Two Kurdish-background men decided to work covertly to expose a network behind illegal main street enterprises because the lawbreakers are causing harm the reputation of Kurds in the Britain, they state.

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

Investigators found that a Kurdish criminal operation was operating convenience stores, hair salons and vehicle cleaning services across the United Kingdom, and wanted to find out more about how it functioned and who was taking part.

Prepared with covert recording devices, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish refugee applicants with no permission to work, looking to acquire and run a small shop from which to sell unlawful cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were successful to reveal how straightforward it is for someone in these conditions to start and run a business on the commercial area in full view. Those participating, we learned, compensate Kurds who have British citizenship to register the enterprises in their identities, enabling to deceive the authorities.

Saman and Ali also managed to discreetly document one of those at the heart of the network, who asserted that he could erase official sanctions of up to sixty thousand pounds encountered those hiring illegal employees.

"Personally sought to contribute in revealing these illegal activities [...] to say that they don't represent Kurdish people," states Saman, a ex- asylum seeker himself. The reporter came to the United Kingdom without authorization, having escaped from the Kurdish region - a territory that spans the boundaries of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not officially recognized as a state - because his well-being was at threat.

The reporters admit that disagreements over unauthorized migration are elevated in the United Kingdom and say they have both been concerned that the inquiry could worsen tensions.

But Ali states that the illegal labor "damages the whole Kurdish community" and he considers compelled to "bring it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Separately, the journalist explains he was anxious the reporting could be used by the far-right.

He states this especially affected him when he noticed that extreme right campaigner Tommy Robinson's national unity rally was occurring in the capital on one of the weekends he was operating covertly. Signs and banners could be spotted at the rally, showing "we want our nation returned".

Saman and Ali have both been observing online feedback to the exposé from within the Kurdish-origin community and say it has caused significant frustration for some. One social media post they observed said: "In what way can we locate and find [the undercover reporters] to attack them like dogs!"

One more demanded their families in Kurdistan to be harmed.

They have also encountered allegations that they were informants for the British authorities, and traitors to fellow Kurdish people. "Both of us are not informants, and we have no aim of hurting the Kurdish community," one reporter explains. "Our objective is to reveal those who have harmed its image. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish identity and deeply concerned about the activities of such people."

The majority of those seeking asylum claim they are escaping political discrimination, according to an expert from the a charitable organization, a organization that helps refugees and refugee applicants in the United Kingdom.

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

Asylum seekers now receive approximately forty-nine pounds a week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in housing which offers food, according to official guidance.

"Honestly speaking, this is not sufficient to support a acceptable existence," says Mr Avicil from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are mostly prohibited from working, he believes a significant number are susceptible to being manipulated and are essentially "forced to labor in the illegal economy for as low as £3 per hourly rate".

A representative for the government department stated: "We are unapologetic for not granting asylum seekers the permission to work - doing so would generate an incentive for individuals to travel to the United Kingdom illegally."

Asylum applications can require a long time to be decided with approximately a one-third taking over a year, according to official statistics from the late March this current year.

The reporter states being employed illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or convenience store would have been quite straightforward to achieve, but he informed us he would never have done that.

Nonetheless, he explains that those he met laboring in illegal convenience stores during his investigation seemed "disoriented", particularly those whose asylum claim has been rejected and who were in the appeal stage.

"These individuals spent their entire money to migrate to the UK, they had their refugee application rejected and now they've sacrificed their entire investment."

Ali acknowledges that these individuals seemed hopeless.

"If [they] declare you're forbidden to be employed - but simultaneously [you]