The Reasons We Went Undercover to Expose Crime in the Kurdish Population

Two Kurdish-background men decided to work covertly to uncover a operation behind unlawful commercial businesses because the wrongdoers are negatively affecting the image of Kurdish people in the UK, they say.

The pair, who we are calling Saman and Ali, are Kurdish investigators who have both resided legally in the United Kingdom for many years.

The team uncovered that a Kurdish illegal enterprise was managing mini-marts, barbershops and vehicle cleaning services throughout the UK, and aimed to discover more about how it functioned and who was taking part.

Prepared with hidden recording devices, Ali and Saman presented themselves as Kurdish refugee applicants with no authorization to be employed, looking to purchase and run a convenience store from which to sell unlawful cigarettes and vapes.

The investigators were successful to reveal how easy it is for a person in these conditions to start and operate a enterprise on the commercial area in public view. Those participating, we found, compensate Kurdish individuals who have UK citizenship to register the enterprises in their identities, helping to fool the government agencies.

Saman and Ali also were able to discreetly document one of those at the centre of the organization, who stated that he could eliminate government penalties of up to £60k imposed on those employing illegal workers.

"I wanted to play a role in exposing these unlawful practices [...] to say that they do not speak for Kurdish people," says Saman, a former refugee applicant personally. Saman entered the United Kingdom without authorization, having escaped from the Kurdish region - a area that straddles the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not officially recognized as a nation - because his life was at threat.

The reporters recognize that tensions over unauthorized immigration are elevated in the UK and state they have both been anxious that the inquiry could worsen tensions.

But the other reporter says that the illegal working "damages the entire Kurdish-origin community" and he believes driven to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Furthermore, the journalist explains he was concerned the reporting could be exploited by the extreme right.

He explains this especially impressed him when he noticed that radical right activist Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom march was happening in the capital on one of the weekends he was operating undercover. Placards and banners could be spotted at the gathering, displaying "we want our country returned".

Both journalists have both been observing social media feedback to the inquiry from within the Kurdish population and report it has caused intense outrage for certain individuals. One social media post they observed said: "In what way can we find and track [the undercover reporters] to kill them like dogs!"

One more called for their relatives in Kurdistan to be attacked.

They have also seen claims that they were informants for the UK government, and betrayers to fellow Kurds. "Both of us are not spies, and we have no desire of damaging the Kurdish-origin population," Saman says. "Our aim is to expose those who have damaged its reputation. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish heritage and deeply worried about the actions of such persons."

Most of those seeking asylum state they are fleeing political oppression, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a charitable organization, a organization that supports refugees and asylum seekers in the United Kingdom.

This was the situation for our undercover journalist one investigator, who, when he initially came to the UK, struggled for many years. He explains he had to survive on under twenty pounds a per week while his refugee application was processed.

Refugee applicants now receive approximately £49 a week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in shelter which offers meals, according to official policies.

"Honestly saying, this is not sufficient to maintain a acceptable lifestyle," explains the expert from the the organization.

Because asylum seekers are generally prohibited from employment, he thinks a significant number are open to being taken advantage of and are essentially "obligated to work in the illegal market for as little as £3 per hour".

A spokesperson for the Home Office stated: "We are unapologetic for not granting asylum seekers the authorization to work - doing so would create an motivation for people to come to the UK without authorization."

Asylum cases can take multiple years to be processed with nearly a one-third taking more than one year, according to government statistics from the end of March this current year.

The reporter says working without authorization in a vehicle cleaning service, hair salon or convenience store would have been quite simple to accomplish, but he informed the team he would not have engaged in that.

However, he states that those he met laboring in unauthorized mini-marts during his work seemed "confused", particularly those whose asylum claim has been denied and who were in the appeals process.

"They spent their entire savings to travel to the United Kingdom, they had their refugee application rejected and now they've lost everything."

The other reporter concurs that these people seemed hopeless.

"When [they] say you're forbidden to work - but simultaneously [you]