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 work covertly to expose a organization behind illegal commercial establishments because the criminals are negatively affecting the image of Kurdish people in the United Kingdom, they explain.

The two, who we are calling Saman and Ali, are Kurdish-origin journalists who have both resided lawfully in the UK for many years.

Investigators discovered that a Kurdish-linked crime network was operating convenience stores, barbershops and car washes across the United Kingdom, and wanted to find out more about how it worked and who was taking part.

Equipped with secret cameras, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish asylum seekers with no authorization to be employed, looking to acquire and operate a convenience store from which to distribute contraband cigarettes and vapes.

The investigators were successful to uncover how simple it is for a person in these circumstances to start and run a enterprise on the commercial area in plain sight. The individuals involved, we found, pay Kurds who have British citizenship to register the operations in their names, helping to fool the government agencies.

Saman and Ali also managed to covertly film one of those at the heart of the organization, who claimed that he could erase government fines of up to £60,000 imposed on those hiring illegal employees.

"Personally aimed to contribute in revealing these unlawful operations [...] to declare that they do not represent us," explains Saman, a former asylum seeker himself. Saman came to the country illegally, having fled the Kurdish region - a region that spans the boundaries of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not officially recognized as a state - because his safety was at risk.

The journalists admit that disagreements over unauthorized migration are significant in the UK and explain they have both been concerned that the inquiry could intensify hostilities.

But the other reporter says that the unauthorized labor "negatively affects the whole Kurdish community" and he believes driven to "bring it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

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

He says this particularly struck him when he realized that radical right campaigner Tommy Robinson's national unity rally was occurring in the capital on one of the weekends he was working undercover. Signs and flags could be observed at the rally, displaying "we demand our nation back".

The reporters have both been monitoring social media feedback to the inquiry from inside the Kurdish-origin population and explain it has sparked strong frustration for certain individuals. One Facebook post they spotted read: "How can we locate and track [the undercover reporters] to attack them like dogs!"

A different demanded their families in Kurdistan to be attacked.

They have also read allegations that they were informants for the UK authorities, and traitors to other Kurdish people. "Both of us are not spies, and we have no aim of hurting the Kurdish-origin population," Saman explains. "Our objective is to uncover those who have harmed its reputation. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish identity and extremely worried about the behavior of such individuals."

The majority of those applying for refugee status claim they are escaping political discrimination, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a refugee support organization, a charity that assists asylum seekers and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the situation for our undercover journalist one investigator, who, when he first came to the United Kingdom, experienced challenges for many years. He explains he had to survive on under £20 a per week while his refugee application was reviewed.

Asylum seekers now get approximately forty-nine pounds a per week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in accommodation which offers meals, according to Home Office policies.

"Practically stating, this isn't adequate to sustain a respectable existence," explains the expert from the the organization.

Because refugee applicants are generally prevented from working, he believes many are susceptible to being manipulated and are essentially "obligated to work in the black market for as little as £3 per hourly rate".

A representative for the Home Office stated: "The government do not apologize for not granting asylum seekers the right to work - doing so would generate an reason for individuals to travel to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Refugee cases can require multiple years to be processed with nearly a 33% taking more than a year, according to government statistics from the end of March this current year.

The reporter explains being employed illegally in a car wash, barbershop or mini-mart would have been very easy to do, but he explained to the team he would not have participated in that.

However, he says that those he met employed in illegal mini-marts during his investigation seemed "confused", notably those whose refugee application has been denied and who were in the appeal stage.

"They spent all of their money to come to the UK, they had their refugee application refused and now they've forfeited all they had."

The other reporter agrees that these people seemed desperate.

"If [they] say you're prohibited to work - but simultaneously [you]