The Reasons We Chose to Go Undercover to Expose Crime in the Kurdish Population

Two Kurdish individuals decided to go undercover to uncover a network behind unlawful commercial enterprises because the criminals are negatively affecting the standing of Kurds in the United Kingdom, they say.

The pair, who we are calling Saman and Ali, are Kurdish-origin investigators who have both resided legally in the UK for a long time.

Investigators discovered that a Kurdish-linked illegal enterprise was operating convenience stores, barbershops and car washes throughout the United Kingdom, and aimed to find out more about how it worked and who was taking part.

Prepared with hidden cameras, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no authorization to work, seeking to acquire and operate a small shop from which to sell unlawful tobacco products and vapes.

The investigators were successful to uncover how easy it is for an individual in these circumstances to start and run a business on the commercial area in public view. Those participating, we found, pay Kurdish individuals who have British citizenship to register the operations in their identities, assisting to mislead the authorities.

Saman and Ali also were able to secretly record one of those at the heart of the organization, who claimed that he could remove official penalties of up to £60k encountered those using illegal employees.

"Personally sought to play a role in revealing these illegal practices [...] to loudly proclaim that they don't speak for us," states Saman, a ex- refugee applicant personally. The reporter came to the UK without authorization, having escaped from the Kurdish region - a area that spans the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not globally acknowledged as a country - because his well-being was at risk.

The journalists admit that disagreements over illegal migration are significant in the UK and say they have both been anxious that the investigation could inflame tensions.

But Ali explains that the unauthorized labor "harms the whole Kurdish-origin population" and he considers obligated to "bring it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Separately, Ali says he was concerned the reporting could be used by the far-right.

He explains this especially struck him when he realized that extreme right activist a prominent activist's national unity march was taking place in London on one of the weekends he was working secretly. Placards and banners could be seen at the protest, displaying "we demand our nation returned".

Both journalists have both been observing online response to the investigation from inside the Kurdish population and report it has caused intense frustration for some. One Facebook message they found stated: "How can we identify and find [the undercover reporters] to kill them like animals!"

One more urged their relatives in Kurdistan to be slaughtered.

They have also seen claims that they were informants for the British authorities, and betrayers to other Kurds. "We are not informants, and we have no intention of damaging the Kurdish-origin population," one reporter states. "Our aim is to expose those who have compromised its image. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish heritage and profoundly worried about the actions of such individuals."

Most of those seeking asylum say they are escaping politically motivated discrimination, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a charitable organization, a non-profit that supports refugees and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the case for our undercover reporter one investigator, who, when he initially arrived to the United Kingdom, faced difficulties for many years. He states he had to survive on under £20 a per week while his refugee application was reviewed.

Refugee applicants now receive approximately £49 a per week - or £9.95 if they are in shelter which provides food, according to government regulations.

"Honestly stating, this is not adequate to maintain a respectable existence," states the expert from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are mostly restricted from employment, he thinks many are vulnerable to being taken advantage of and are effectively "obligated to work in the illegal economy for as little as £3 per hourly rate".

A official for the authorities stated: "The government do not apologize for not granting refugee applicants the right to be employed - granting this would create an incentive for individuals to migrate to the United Kingdom illegally."

Asylum applications can take a long time to be processed with nearly a one-third requiring over one year, according to official statistics from the end of March this current year.

Saman says working illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or mini-mart would have been extremely easy to do, but he informed us he would never have engaged in that.

Nevertheless, he states that those he met working in illegal convenience stores during his research seemed "confused", notably those whose refugee application has been rejected and who were in the legal challenge.

"They expended their entire funds to migrate to the UK, they had their asylum refused and now they've sacrificed all they had."

The other reporter concurs that these individuals seemed hopeless.

"When [they] say you're prohibited to be employed - but simultaneously [you]