The Reasons Our Team Chose to Go Undercover to Reveal Criminal Activity in the Kurdish-origin Population

A pair of Kurdish-background individuals agreed to operate secretly to expose a network behind illegal commercial establishments because the lawbreakers are causing harm the image of Kurdish people in the Britain, they say.

The pair, who we are referring to as Ali and Saman, are Kurdish-origin investigators who have both resided lawfully in the UK for many years.

Investigators found that a Kurdish-linked illegal enterprise was managing mini-marts, hair salons and vehicle cleaning services throughout Britain, and aimed to discover more about how it functioned and who was participating.

Prepared with hidden recording devices, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish refugee applicants with no authorization to work, looking to buy and run a mini-mart from which to distribute contraband tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were successful to discover how straightforward it is for someone in these circumstances to start and manage a enterprise on the main street in public view. Those participating, we found, pay Kurds who have UK residency to legally establish the businesses in their names, helping to mislead the government agencies.

Ali and Saman also were able to secretly film one of those at the heart of the operation, who asserted that he could remove official sanctions of up to sixty thousand pounds imposed on those hiring unauthorized laborers.

"I wanted to play a role in exposing these illegal practices [...] to say that they don't represent us," says Saman, a former refugee applicant himself. The reporter entered the country 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 conflicts over illegal immigration are high in the United Kingdom and explain they have both been anxious that the probe could intensify tensions.

But the other reporter explains that the illegal working "harms the entire Kurdish-origin community" and he considers compelled to "expose it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Additionally, the journalist says he was worried the coverage could be used by the extreme right.

He explains this notably affected him when he realized that extreme right campaigner Tommy Robinson's national unity march was happening in London on one of the weekends he was working covertly. Placards and flags could be observed at the rally, displaying "we want our country returned".

The reporters have both been observing social media feedback to the investigation from within the Kurdish-origin population and explain it has generated significant anger for certain individuals. One Facebook post they found stated: "In what way can we identify and locate [the undercover reporters] to attack them like dogs!"

A different called for their relatives in Kurdistan to be slaughtered.

They have also seen claims that they were spies for the British authorities, and traitors to other Kurds. "We are not informants, and we have no desire of harming the Kurdish-origin community," one reporter states. "Our aim is to uncover those who have damaged its standing. We are proud of our Kurdish heritage and extremely concerned about the activities of such individuals."

The majority of those seeking refugee status state they are escaping political oppression, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a charitable organization, a charity that helps refugees and asylum seekers in the United Kingdom.

This was the situation for our covert journalist one investigator, who, when he first came to the United Kingdom, experienced challenges for many years. He states he had to survive on less than twenty pounds a week while his refugee application was reviewed.

Asylum seekers now receive approximately £49 a per week - or £9.95 if they are in shelter which offers meals, according to official guidance.

"Honestly saying, this isn't sufficient to maintain a acceptable life," explains Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because asylum seekers are mostly prevented from working, he thinks numerous are susceptible to being taken advantage of and are essentially "compelled to work in the unofficial sector for as little as £3 per hour".

A spokesperson for the Home Office said: "We are unapologetic for refusing to grant asylum seekers the right to be employed - granting this would create an incentive for individuals to come to the United Kingdom illegally."

Asylum applications can take multiple years to be decided with nearly a one-third taking over 12 months, according to government figures from the late March this year.

Saman says working without authorization in a vehicle cleaning service, hair salon or convenience store would have been quite simple to accomplish, but he told us he would never have done that.

Nevertheless, he explains that those he encountered laboring in unauthorized convenience stores during his work seemed "disoriented", particularly those whose asylum claim has been rejected and who were in the appeal stage.

"These individuals spent their entire savings to travel to the United Kingdom, they had their asylum rejected and now they've forfeited all they had."

Ali concurs that these individuals seemed in dire straits.

"If [they] state you're prohibited to work - but additionally [you]