Why We Chose to Go Undercover to Uncover Crime in the Kurdish Population

Two Kurdish-background men consented to work covertly to reveal a operation behind unlawful High Street businesses because the lawbreakers are damaging the standing of Kurds in the United Kingdom, they explain.

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

Investigators discovered that a Kurdish-linked criminal operation was managing small shops, hair salons and car washes throughout the UK, and aimed to discover more about how it functioned and who was taking part.

Equipped with hidden recording devices, Ali and Saman presented themselves as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no right to be employed, attempting to buy and run a convenience store from which to sell unlawful cigarettes and vapes.

The investigators were able to discover how easy it is for someone in these situations to start and manage a enterprise on the High Street in full view. Those participating, we learned, pay Kurds who have British citizenship to legally establish the businesses in their names, assisting to mislead the government agencies.

Saman and Ali also were able to secretly film one of those at the heart of the operation, who asserted that he could erase official penalties of up to £60k encountered those hiring illegal laborers.

"Personally sought to play a role in revealing these unlawful practices [...] to say that they don't speak for us," states one reporter, a former refugee applicant personally. Saman entered the UK without authorization, having fled the Kurdish region - a region that spans the borders of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not internationally recognised as a country - because his well-being was at risk.

The investigators acknowledge that disagreements over illegal migration are high in the UK and state they have both been anxious that the probe could intensify hostilities.

But Ali says that the illegal labor "damages the entire Kurdish community" and he considers obligated to "expose it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Additionally, the journalist says he was worried the publication could be used by the far-right.

He states this notably impressed him when he discovered that far-right campaigner a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom protest was occurring in London on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was working secretly. Signs and flags could be seen at the gathering, showing "we want our nation returned".

Saman and Ali have both been tracking social media response to the exposé from within the Kurdish population and explain it has sparked intense outrage for some. One social media comment they found stated: "How can we find and locate [the undercover reporters] to kill them like dogs!"

A different urged their relatives in Kurdistan to be slaughtered.

They have also encountered allegations that they were spies for the British authorities, and traitors to fellow Kurdish people. "Both of us are not spies, and we have no desire of hurting the Kurdish-origin population," Saman explains. "Our goal is to uncover those who have compromised its standing. We are honored of our Kurdish heritage and extremely concerned about the behavior of such individuals."

The majority of those applying for asylum say they are fleeing politically motivated discrimination, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a refugee support organization, a non-profit that helps refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the case for our undercover journalist one investigator, who, when he initially arrived to the UK, faced difficulties for years. He says he had to live on under twenty pounds a per week while his asylum claim was processed.

Refugee applicants now receive approximately forty-nine pounds a week - or £9.95 if they are in housing which provides food, according to government regulations.

"Practically saying, this isn't adequate to maintain a acceptable lifestyle," states Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because asylum seekers are generally prevented from employment, he believes numerous are open to being taken advantage of and are practically "forced to labor in the unofficial sector for as low as three pounds per hourly rate".

A official for the Home Office commented: "We do not apologize for not granting refugee applicants the authorization to work - granting this would generate an motivation for people to come to the UK illegally."

Refugee cases can take years to be resolved with nearly a third requiring over a year, according to official figures from the spring this year.

The reporter explains being employed illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, hair salon or convenience store would have been quite easy to achieve, but he told the team he would not have done that.

Nevertheless, he explains that those he met laboring in illegal mini-marts during his research seemed "disoriented", notably those whose asylum claim has been rejected and who were in the appeals process.

"These individuals spent all their funds to travel to the United Kingdom, they had their asylum rejected and now they've sacrificed everything."

Ali acknowledges that these individuals seemed in dire straits.

"When [they] state you're forbidden to be employed - but also [you]