The Reasons Our Team Chose to Go Undercover to Reveal Criminal Activity in the Kurdish Community

Two Kurdish individuals decided to work covertly to expose a network behind illegal main street establishments because the criminals are causing harm the standing of Kurdish people in the Britain, they state.

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

Investigators found that a Kurdish-linked crime network was running small shops, barbershops and car washes across the United Kingdom, and wanted to discover more about how it worked and who was involved.

Equipped with hidden cameras, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish refugee applicants with no permission to work, attempting to purchase and operate a convenience store from which to trade illegal tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were able to uncover how simple it is for an individual in these situations to start and run a commercial operation on the High Street in plain sight. The individuals participating, we discovered, compensate Kurdish individuals who have UK residency to register the enterprises in their names, enabling to fool the government agencies.

Ali and Saman also were able to secretly document one of those at the heart of the operation, who stated that he could erase government sanctions of up to sixty thousand pounds faced those employing illegal employees.

"I sought to participate in exposing these unlawful activities [...] to loudly proclaim that they don't characterize Kurdish people," says Saman, a ex- refugee applicant personally. The reporter came to the country without authorization, having escaped from Kurdistan - a territory that straddles the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not globally acknowledged as a state - because his safety was at danger.

The reporters admit that tensions over illegal migration are high in the UK and state they have both been concerned that the investigation could intensify hostilities.

But the other reporter states that the unauthorized labor "damages the entire Kurdish community" and he feels obligated to "expose it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Separately, the journalist mentions he was anxious the coverage could be seized upon by the radical right.

He explains this notably affected him when he realized that radical right activist a prominent activist's national unity march was occurring in London on one of the weekends he was operating covertly. Banners and flags could be spotted at the gathering, showing "we want our nation returned".

The reporters have both been observing social media reaction to the investigation from inside the Kurdish-origin population and report it has caused intense outrage for some. One Facebook message they spotted said: "How can we find and track [the undercover reporters] to kill them like dogs!"

One more demanded their families in the Kurdish region to be harmed.

They have also read accusations that they were spies for the UK government, and traitors to other Kurdish people. "Both of us are not informants, and we have no desire of hurting the Kurdish-origin community," one reporter says. "Our aim is to uncover those who have compromised its image. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish-origin identity and profoundly troubled about the actions of such persons."

Most of those seeking asylum state they are fleeing political persecution, according to an expert from the a refugee support organization, a charity that supports refugees and asylum seekers in the United Kingdom.

This was the case for our undercover journalist Saman, who, when he initially came to the United Kingdom, faced difficulties for many years. He explains he had to survive 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 nine pounds ninety-five if they are in housing which provides meals, according to official policies.

"Practically speaking, this isn't enough to maintain a dignified lifestyle," states Mr Avicil from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are mostly prevented from employment, he thinks numerous are open to being manipulated and are essentially "obligated to labor in the black market for as little as three pounds per hourly rate".

A spokesperson for the Home Office commented: "We are unapologetic for denying refugee applicants the permission to be employed - granting this would create an incentive for individuals to travel to the UK illegally."

Refugee applications can require years to be decided with approximately a third taking more than one year, according to government data from the spring this year.

Saman explains working without authorization in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or mini-mart would have been quite straightforward to accomplish, but he informed the team he would never have done that.

Nevertheless, he says that those he interviewed laboring in unauthorized mini-marts during his work seemed "confused", notably those whose asylum claim has been refused and who were in the appeal stage.

"They spent their entire money to come to the United Kingdom, they had their refugee application refused and now they've lost all they had."

Ali concurs that these people seemed desperate.

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