Why We Went Covert to Expose Criminal Activity in the Kurdish-origin Population

A pair of Kurdish individuals agreed to go undercover to expose a operation behind illegal High Street enterprises because the wrongdoers are damaging the reputation of Kurdish people in the United Kingdom, they state.

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

The team discovered that a Kurdish-linked crime network was running convenience stores, hair salons and vehicle cleaning services throughout the UK, and aimed to learn more about how it operated and who was participating.

Prepared with secret recording devices, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no right to work, looking to buy and manage a small shop from which to distribute contraband tobacco products and vapes.

They were able to reveal how straightforward it is for an individual in these conditions to set up and manage a business on the main street in public view. Those participating, we found, compensate Kurdish individuals who have UK residency to legally establish the businesses in their identities, assisting to fool the government agencies.

Ali and Saman also managed to discreetly document one of those at the heart of the operation, who asserted that he could eliminate official sanctions of up to sixty thousand pounds faced those employing unauthorized employees.

"I sought to play a role in uncovering these unlawful practices [...] to say that they do not represent us," says one reporter, a former refugee applicant himself. Saman came to the country without authorization, having fled Kurdistan - a territory that covers the borders of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not internationally recognised as a nation - because his well-being was at danger.

The reporters admit that tensions over unauthorized migration are elevated in the UK and state they have both been worried that the investigation could worsen tensions.

But the other reporter says that the unauthorized employment "harms the entire Kurdish-origin community" and he feels driven to "expose it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Separately, the journalist explains he was concerned the reporting could be seized upon by the extreme right.

He states this notably affected him when he realized that extreme right activist Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom rally was happening in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating secretly. Banners and banners could be seen at the protest, displaying "we want our country returned".

Both journalists have both been tracking online feedback to the exposé from within the Kurdish-origin population and report it has sparked strong anger for certain individuals. One social media comment they observed stated: "In what way can we identify and find [the undercover reporters] to attack them like dogs!"

Another called for their families in Kurdistan to be harmed.

They have also read allegations that they were agents for the UK government, and traitors to other Kurdish people. "We are not spies, and we have no intention of harming the Kurdish-origin community," Saman says. "Our aim is to uncover those who have harmed its reputation. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish-origin heritage and extremely concerned about the behavior of such individuals."

Most of those applying for asylum say they are fleeing political discrimination, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a charity that supports asylum seekers and asylum seekers in the United Kingdom.

This was the situation for our undercover journalist Saman, who, when he initially arrived to the UK, struggled for many years. He says he had to live on less than twenty pounds a week while his asylum claim was reviewed.

Asylum seekers now are provided approximately forty-nine pounds a week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in accommodation which includes food, according to official guidance.

"Realistically stating, this isn't enough to maintain a acceptable lifestyle," says the expert from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are largely restricted from employment, he believes many are open to being exploited and are effectively "compelled to labor in the unofficial sector for as low as three pounds per hour".

A representative for the Home Office commented: "The government make no apology for not granting refugee applicants the authorization to be employed - doing so would establish an incentive for individuals to migrate to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Asylum cases can take multiple years to be decided with almost a 33% requiring more than 12 months, according to government data from the end of March this current year.

The reporter explains being employed illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or mini-mart would have been extremely straightforward to achieve, but he informed the team he would not have engaged in that.

Nonetheless, he states that those he interviewed laboring in illegal convenience stores during his work seemed "disoriented", especially those whose refugee application has been rejected and who were in the appeal stage.

"These individuals spent all their money to come to the UK, they had their asylum denied and now they've forfeited their entire investment."

The other reporter agrees that these people seemed desperate.

"When [they] say you're not allowed to be employed - but simultaneously [you]