The Reasons Our Team Went Covert to Reveal Criminal Activity in the Kurdish Population

A pair of Kurdish-background individuals decided to work covertly to uncover a organization behind illegal main street establishments because the criminals are causing harm the reputation of Kurdish people in the United Kingdom, they say.

The two, who we are referring to as Ali and Saman, are Kurdish-origin reporters who have both resided lawfully in the United Kingdom for many years.

Investigators discovered that a Kurdish crime network was managing mini-marts, hair salons and car washes the length of Britain, and wanted to discover more about how it worked and who was involved.

Equipped with secret cameras, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no right to work, seeking to acquire and run a mini-mart from which to sell contraband tobacco products and vapes.

The investigators were able to reveal how easy it is for an individual in these conditions to start and run a business on the main street in full view. The individuals involved, we discovered, compensate Kurds who have British citizenship to legally establish the enterprises in their identities, enabling to fool the authorities.

Saman and Ali also succeeded to secretly document one of those at the core of the network, who asserted that he could eliminate official penalties of up to £60k imposed on those hiring illegal workers.

"Personally wanted to contribute in revealing these illegal operations [...] to loudly proclaim that they do not speak for us," says Saman, a ex- refugee applicant himself. Saman entered the United Kingdom without authorization, having fled the Kurdish region - a region that spans the boundaries of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not globally acknowledged as a country - because his well-being was at threat.

The journalists admit that disagreements over illegal immigration are significant in the UK and state they have both been concerned that the inquiry could worsen hostilities.

But Ali states that the unauthorized labor "damages the entire Kurdish community" and he feels obligated to "expose it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Additionally, Ali mentions he was concerned the publication could be used by the extreme right.

He says this notably struck him when he realized that extreme right campaigner Tommy Robinson's national unity rally was occurring in London on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating covertly. Signs and banners could be seen at the protest, showing "we demand our nation back".

Both journalists have both been tracking social media response to the exposé from within the Kurdish-origin population and explain it has sparked intense anger for some. One social media message they found said: "In what way can we find and find [the undercover reporters] to attack them like animals!"

Another called for their relatives in Kurdistan to be attacked.

They have also read allegations that they were agents for the British authorities, and betrayers to other Kurdish people. "Both of us are not spies, and we have no desire of hurting the Kurdish community," one reporter states. "Our objective is to expose those who have compromised its image. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish heritage and deeply troubled about the actions of such people."

Most of those applying for refugee status state they are fleeing political persecution, according to an expert from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a organization that supports asylum seekers and asylum seekers in the United Kingdom.

This was the scenario for our undercover reporter Saman, who, when he initially arrived to the United Kingdom, experienced challenges for many years. He states he had to live on under £20 a week while his refugee application was reviewed.

Asylum seekers now receive about forty-nine pounds a week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in shelter which provides food, according to government regulations.

"Practically speaking, this isn't adequate to maintain a dignified life," states the expert from the the organization.

Because refugee applicants are generally prevented from working, he thinks a significant number are vulnerable to being exploited and are practically "compelled to work in the illegal economy for as little as £3 per hour".

A spokesperson for the Home Office commented: "The government are unapologetic for denying asylum seekers the permission to be employed - doing so would create an incentive for individuals to come to the UK illegally."

Asylum applications can take years to be processed with almost a one-third requiring over 12 months, according to official figures from the late March this year.

The reporter states working illegally in a car wash, hair salon or mini-mart would have been extremely straightforward to achieve, but he informed us he would not have done that.

Nonetheless, he says that those he encountered laboring in illegal convenience stores during his investigation seemed "disoriented", particularly those whose asylum claim has been denied and who were in the legal challenge.

"They used all their funds to migrate to the United Kingdom, they had their refugee application denied and now they've forfeited their entire investment."

The other reporter agrees that these people seemed desperate.

"If [they] say you're not allowed to be employed - but simultaneously [you]