The Reasons We Chose to Go Undercover to Uncover Crime in the Kurdish Population

A pair of Kurdish-background individuals decided to operate secretly to uncover a network behind unlawful main street enterprises because the criminals are damaging the reputation of Kurds in the United Kingdom, they state.

The two, who we are calling Ali and Saman, are Kurdish-origin reporters who have both resided legally in the United Kingdom for a long time.

The team found that a Kurdish-linked crime network was running mini-marts, hair salons and vehicle cleaning services across Britain, and wanted to discover more about how it functioned and who was participating.

Prepared with hidden cameras, Ali and Saman presented themselves as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no permission to be employed, seeking to acquire and operate a mini-mart from which to sell contraband cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were able to uncover how simple it is for an individual in these situations to establish and run a enterprise on the main street in full view. Those participating, we found, compensate Kurds who have British citizenship to legally establish the enterprises in their names, enabling to fool the authorities.

Saman and Ali also were able to discreetly document one of those at the centre of the operation, who claimed that he could erase government fines of up to sixty thousand pounds imposed on those using unauthorized employees.

"I aimed to contribute in uncovering these illegal practices [...] to declare that they don't characterize us," states one reporter, a ex- asylum seeker personally. Saman entered the UK illegally, having escaped from the Kurdish region - a region that covers the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not globally acknowledged as a country - because his well-being was at danger.

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

But Ali states that the illegal working "negatively affects the entire Kurdish population" and he believes compelled to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Separately, the journalist says he was concerned the coverage could be used by the far-right.

He explains this particularly impressed him when he discovered that radical right activist Tommy Robinson's national unity march was occurring in the capital on one of the weekends he was operating undercover. Banners and banners could be seen at the gathering, displaying "we want our country back".

Saman and Ali have both been observing online response to the investigation from within the Kurdish-origin community and say it has caused intense frustration for some. One social media post they observed read: "How can we identify and locate [the undercover reporters] to harm them like dogs!"

One more demanded their families in Kurdistan to be harmed.

They have also encountered allegations that they were spies for the British government, and betrayers to fellow Kurds. "We are not informants, and we have no desire of harming the Kurdish population," Saman says. "Our aim is to uncover those who have compromised its image. We are honored of our Kurdish-origin heritage and profoundly concerned about the activities of such individuals."

The majority of those applying for refugee status state they are escaping politically motivated persecution, according to an expert from the a charitable organization, a charity that helps asylum seekers and asylum seekers in the United Kingdom.

This was the situation for our undercover reporter Saman, who, when he initially arrived to the UK, experienced challenges for years. He says he had to live on under twenty pounds a week while his asylum claim was considered.

Refugee applicants now receive approximately forty-nine pounds a per week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in shelter which includes meals, according to Home Office policies.

"Practically speaking, this is not adequate to support a dignified life," says the expert from the the organization.

Because asylum seekers are mostly prevented from employment, he feels a significant number are open to being taken advantage of and are effectively "obligated to work in the black market for as low as three pounds per hour".

A official for the authorities said: "We make no apology for not granting asylum seekers the authorization to work - doing so would establish an reason for individuals to travel to the UK illegally."

Asylum applications can require a long time to be resolved with nearly a third taking over 12 months, according to official statistics from the spring this current year.

The reporter says working without authorization in a car wash, barbershop or mini-mart would have been extremely straightforward to do, but he explained to us he would not have done that.

Nonetheless, he says that those he encountered working in unauthorized mini-marts during his investigation seemed "disoriented", especially those whose asylum claim has been rejected and who were in the appeal stage.

"These individuals used all of their funds to travel to the United Kingdom, they had their refugee application refused and now they've sacrificed all they had."

Ali agrees that these individuals seemed desperate.

"When [they] declare you're forbidden to be employed - but also [you]