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

A pair of Kurdish-background men agreed to go undercover to expose a organization behind illegal commercial establishments because the criminals are negatively affecting the reputation of Kurds in the UK, they state.

The pair, who we are calling Ali and Saman, are Kurdish-origin journalists who have both resided legally in the UK for years.

Investigators discovered that a Kurdish crime network was managing small shops, hair salons and car washes across the United Kingdom, and sought to find out more about how it operated and who was participating.

Armed with covert cameras, Ali and Saman presented themselves as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no right to work, seeking to purchase and operate a mini-mart from which to sell unlawful tobacco products and vapes.

The investigators were successful to discover how easy it is for someone in these situations to set up and manage a enterprise on the High Street in plain sight. The individuals participating, we learned, compensate Kurdish individuals who have British citizenship to legally establish the enterprises in their identities, enabling to mislead the authorities.

Ali and Saman also were able to discreetly document one of those at the core of the operation, who stated that he could erase official penalties of up to £60,000 encountered those using illegal laborers.

"I wanted to participate in revealing these unlawful practices [...] to declare that they do not characterize us," explains one reporter, a ex- refugee applicant himself. The reporter entered the United Kingdom illegally, having fled the Kurdish region - a region that straddles the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not officially recognized as a state - because his well-being was at danger.

The journalists acknowledge that conflicts over illegal migration are elevated in the United Kingdom and say they have both been concerned that the probe could worsen hostilities.

But the other reporter says that the illegal labor "harms the whole Kurdish community" and he considers compelled to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Additionally, the journalist explains he was concerned the coverage could be used by the radical right.

He says this especially impressed him when he discovered that extreme right campaigner Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom rally was occurring in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was working secretly. Placards and banners could be observed at the protest, displaying "we want our nation back".

Both journalists have both been observing online reaction to the inquiry from inside the Kurdish-origin population and report it has sparked significant frustration for some. One social media post they observed stated: "How can we locate and track [the undercover reporters] to attack them like animals!"

Another demanded their families in Kurdistan to be harmed.

They have also seen claims that they were agents for the British authorities, and betrayers to fellow Kurdish people. "We are not informants, and we have no aim of hurting the Kurdish population," Saman explains. "Our objective is to uncover those who have harmed its image. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish identity and profoundly worried about the behavior of such persons."

Most of those applying for refugee status claim they are fleeing political persecution, according to an expert from the a charitable organization, a charity that supports asylum seekers and asylum seekers in the United Kingdom.

This was the case for our covert journalist one investigator, who, when he initially arrived to the United Kingdom, experienced challenges for years. He explains he had to survive on under £20 a week while his refugee application was processed.

Asylum seekers now receive about £49 a per week - or £9.95 if they are in housing which provides meals, according to Home Office policies.

"Honestly speaking, this isn't enough to support a acceptable life," explains the expert from the the organization.

Because asylum seekers are generally prevented from employment, he thinks many are vulnerable to being exploited and are practically "forced to labor in the illegal sector for as little as £3 per hourly rate".

A representative for the Home Office commented: "The government make no apology for refusing to grant refugee applicants the permission to be employed - doing so would create an reason for people to come to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Refugee cases can require years to be decided with nearly a 33% taking more than a year, according to government figures from the end of March this year.

The reporter explains working illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or mini-mart would have been very easy to do, but he informed us he would never have engaged in that.

However, he states that those he encountered employed in illegal mini-marts during his investigation seemed "confused", particularly those whose refugee application has been denied and who were in the appeals process.

"They used all their funds to travel to the UK, they had their refugee application denied and now they've sacrificed all they had."

Ali agrees that these people seemed in dire straits.

"If [they] state you're not allowed to work - but also [you]