Why Our Team Chose to Go Undercover to Uncover Crime in the Kurdish-origin Community

A pair of Kurdish-background men agreed to operate secretly to expose a network behind unlawful commercial enterprises because the wrongdoers are negatively affecting the reputation of Kurdish people in the UK, they say.

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

The team found that a Kurdish illegal enterprise was running small shops, hair salons and car washes throughout the United Kingdom, and wanted to discover more about how it operated and who was taking part.

Prepared with covert cameras, Ali and Saman presented themselves as Kurdish refugee applicants with no right to work, seeking to acquire and run a mini-mart from which to distribute unlawful cigarettes and vapes.

They were successful to reveal how straightforward it is for an individual in these circumstances to set up and run a business on the High Street in plain sight. Those participating, we discovered, compensate Kurds who have UK residency to legally establish the enterprises in their identities, enabling to mislead the authorities.

Saman and Ali also were able to discreetly film one of those at the heart of the network, who asserted that he could erase government sanctions of up to £60,000 faced those hiring illegal workers.

"Personally aimed to play a role in exposing these illegal operations [...] to say that they do not characterize Kurdish people," explains Saman, a former asylum seeker personally. Saman entered the UK illegally, having fled Kurdistan - a region that straddles the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not officially recognized as a country - because his safety was at threat.

The journalists recognize that conflicts over illegal immigration are significant in the UK and explain they have both been anxious that the probe could inflame conflicts.

But the other reporter states that the unauthorized labor "harms the whole Kurdish-origin community" and he believes compelled to "expose it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Additionally, the journalist explains he was worried the publication could be seized upon by the extreme right.

He says this especially affected him when he discovered that far-right activist a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom march was happening in London on one of the weekends he was working covertly. Banners and banners could be spotted at the rally, showing "we demand our country returned".

Both journalists have both been monitoring online reaction to the inquiry from within the Kurdish-origin community and report it has caused strong outrage for some. One Facebook comment they found said: "How can we identify and track [the undercover reporters] to kill them like dogs!"

One more urged their relatives in Kurdistan to be harmed.

They have also seen claims that they were agents for the British government, and betrayers to other Kurdish people. "We are not informants, and we have no intention of hurting the Kurdish-origin community," Saman says. "Our objective is to expose those who have compromised its standing. We are proud of our Kurdish-origin heritage and profoundly concerned about the actions of such persons."

The majority of those seeking asylum state they are escaping political persecution, according to an expert from the a refugee support organization, a non-profit that assists refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the case for our covert journalist Saman, who, when he initially came to the United Kingdom, faced difficulties for years. He says he had to live on less than £20 a week while his asylum claim was reviewed.

Asylum seekers now receive about £49 a per week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in housing which offers meals, according to Home Office policies.

"Practically stating, this is not sufficient to support a respectable life," states Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because asylum seekers are largely prohibited from working, he believes numerous are vulnerable to being manipulated and are effectively "obligated to labor in the illegal market for as little as £3 per hourly rate".

A representative for the government department said: "The government are unapologetic for denying refugee applicants the right to work - doing so would establish an motivation for people to migrate to the UK without authorization."

Refugee cases can take a long time to be processed with almost a 33% taking over 12 months, according to official figures from the late March this year.

The reporter states being employed without authorization in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or convenience store would have been extremely simple to accomplish, but he explained to the team he would never have done that.

Nevertheless, he explains that those he interviewed employed in illegal mini-marts during his investigation seemed "lost", particularly those whose refugee application has been denied and who were in the appeal stage.

"These individuals used their entire money to migrate to the United Kingdom, they had their refugee application rejected and now they've lost all they had."

The other reporter agrees that these individuals seemed desperate.

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