Why We Went Undercover to Reveal Crime in the Kurdish-origin Community

A pair of Kurdish individuals agreed to go undercover to reveal a network behind illegal High Street businesses because the criminals are negatively affecting the reputation of Kurdish people in the Britain, they state.

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

The team uncovered that a Kurdish-linked crime network was managing convenience stores, barbershops and car washes the length of Britain, and aimed to discover more about how it functioned and who was participating.

Equipped with secret cameras, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no permission to work, seeking to purchase and manage a small shop from which to distribute illegal tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were successful to discover how simple it is for an individual in these circumstances to start and manage a enterprise on the commercial area in public view. Those participating, we found, pay Kurdish individuals who have British citizenship to legally establish the enterprises in their names, helping to mislead the officials.

Saman and Ali also succeeded to covertly film one of those at the core of the organization, who stated that he could erase government sanctions of up to £60k encountered those using unauthorized employees.

"Personally sought to contribute in exposing these unlawful activities [...] to declare that they do not represent us," explains Saman, a ex- asylum seeker personally. Saman came to the country 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 nation - because his life was at risk.

The reporters admit that tensions over unauthorized migration are significant in the United Kingdom and state they have both been anxious that the inquiry could inflame hostilities.

But the other reporter says that the unauthorized labor "negatively affects the entire Kurdish community" and he believes obligated to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Furthermore, the journalist says he was concerned the publication could be seized upon by the far-right.

He explains this notably affected him when he noticed that far-right activist a prominent activist's national unity protest was happening in London on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating undercover. Placards and banners could be observed at the rally, displaying "we demand our country returned".

Both journalists have both been observing online response to the inquiry from inside the Kurdish-origin population and say it has sparked significant anger for certain individuals. One Facebook comment they found said: "In what way can we locate and track [the undercover reporters] to attack them like dogs!"

Another demanded their relatives in Kurdistan to be slaughtered.

They have also encountered accusations that they were spies for the UK government, and betrayers to fellow Kurdish people. "We are not informants, and we have no desire of hurting the Kurdish-origin community," one reporter says. "Our aim is to expose those who have compromised its reputation. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish-origin heritage and extremely worried about the activities of such persons."

Most of those seeking refugee status state they are escaping political discrimination, according to an expert from the a refugee support organization, a non-profit that helps asylum seekers and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the scenario for our covert journalist one investigator, who, when he first arrived to the United Kingdom, faced difficulties for years. He explains he had to live on less than twenty pounds a week while his refugee application was considered.

Asylum seekers now are provided about forty-nine pounds a week - or £9.95 if they are in accommodation which offers meals, according to official regulations.

"Realistically stating, this is not sufficient to sustain a dignified existence," says Mr Avicil from the RWCA.

Because asylum seekers are mostly restricted from working, he feels numerous are open to being taken advantage of and are effectively "obligated to labor in the unofficial market for as little as £3 per hour".

A spokesperson for the Home Office commented: "We make no apology for not granting asylum seekers the permission to work - granting this would generate an motivation for people to come to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Refugee applications can take years to be processed with approximately a third requiring more than 12 months, according to official data from the late March this year.

Saman states working illegally in a car wash, hair salon or mini-mart would have been extremely straightforward to achieve, but he informed the team he would never have participated in that.

However, he says that those he encountered working in unauthorized convenience stores during his investigation seemed "lost", especially those whose refugee application has been denied and who were in the appeals process.

"These individuals used all their savings to come to the UK, they had their asylum denied and now they've lost everything."

The other reporter agrees that these individuals seemed desperate.

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