Why Our Team Went Undercover to Uncover Crime in the Kurdish Population

A pair of Kurdish-background individuals decided to operate secretly to expose a network behind unlawful main street businesses because the criminals are causing harm the standing of Kurds in the UK, they say.

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

The team found that a Kurdish illegal enterprise was running convenience stores, barbershops and vehicle cleaning services throughout the UK, and wanted to discover more about how it worked and who was participating.

Equipped with secret cameras, Ali and Saman posed as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no right to work, seeking to purchase and run a mini-mart from which to trade unlawful tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were able to discover how simple it is for someone in these circumstances to set up and run a commercial operation on the High Street in public view. Those participating, we learned, compensate Kurds who have UK citizenship to register the businesses in their names, assisting to fool the officials.

Saman and Ali also succeeded to secretly film one of those at the heart of the network, who claimed that he could eliminate government sanctions of up to £60,000 faced those employing unauthorized employees.

"I wanted to participate in exposing these unlawful activities [...] to declare that they do not characterize us," says one reporter, a ex- refugee applicant himself. Saman entered the UK illegally, having escaped from the Kurdish region - a region that covers the boundaries of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not globally acknowledged as a country - because his well-being was at danger.

The reporters admit that disagreements over illegal migration are significant in the United Kingdom and explain they have both been concerned that the inquiry could worsen hostilities.

But Ali explains that the unauthorized labor "harms the whole Kurdish population" and he feels driven to "expose it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Furthermore, Ali says he was anxious the reporting could be used by the far-right.

He states this particularly affected him when he discovered that far-right activist Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom protest was taking place in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating secretly. Banners and banners could be observed at the gathering, displaying "we want our nation returned".

Both journalists have both been observing social media reaction to the investigation from within the Kurdish-origin population and explain it has caused strong anger for certain individuals. One Facebook message they found stated: "In what way can we locate and find [the undercover reporters] to attack them like dogs!"

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

They have also encountered accusations that they were spies for the British government, and traitors to other Kurds. "We are not spies, and we have no desire of harming the Kurdish community," one reporter states. "Our objective is to uncover those who have compromised its reputation. We are honored of our Kurdish-origin heritage and extremely troubled about the behavior of such people."

The majority of those seeking refugee status say they are fleeing political persecution, according to an expert from the a charitable organization, a non-profit that helps asylum seekers and asylum seekers in the United Kingdom.

This was the scenario for our covert journalist Saman, who, when he first came to the UK, faced difficulties for many years. He states he had to live on less than twenty pounds a week while his asylum claim was considered.

Refugee applicants now receive about £49 a per week - or £9.95 if they are in accommodation which provides meals, according to Home Office regulations.

"Honestly stating, this is not enough to support a acceptable life," says the expert from the RWCA.

Because asylum seekers are generally prevented from employment, he feels a significant number are susceptible to being taken advantage of and are effectively "compelled to labor in the unofficial sector for as little as £3 per hour".

A spokesperson for the Home Office stated: "The government are unapologetic for denying asylum seekers the permission to be employed - doing so would generate an incentive for individuals to migrate to the UK without authorization."

Asylum applications can take a long time to be processed with almost a one-third taking over a year, according to official data from the spring this year.

The reporter explains being employed illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, hair salon or convenience store would have been extremely simple to do, but he explained to us he would never have engaged in that.

Nonetheless, he explains that those he interviewed working in illegal convenience stores during his research seemed "confused", particularly those whose asylum claim has been denied and who were in the legal challenge.

"These individuals used all their savings to come to the UK, they had their asylum rejected and now they've sacrificed their entire investment."

Ali concurs that these people seemed hopeless.

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