The Reasons We Went Covert to Reveal Crime in the Kurdish-origin Community

Two Kurdish men agreed to work covertly to expose a operation behind unlawful main street businesses because the lawbreakers are negatively affecting the standing of Kurds in the Britain, they say.

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

Investigators found that a Kurdish criminal operation was managing small shops, hair salons and vehicle cleaning services across the UK, and aimed to learn more about how it operated and who was involved.

Prepared with hidden recording devices, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish refugee applicants with no permission to work, attempting to purchase and operate a convenience store from which to sell contraband cigarettes and vapes.

The investigators were able to reveal how simple it is for someone in these circumstances to set up and manage a commercial operation on the commercial area in plain sight. Those involved, we found, pay Kurdish individuals who have UK citizenship to legally establish the enterprises in their names, assisting to fool the government agencies.

Saman and Ali also managed to discreetly document one of those at the centre of the organization, who stated that he could erase official penalties of up to £60k faced those using unauthorized laborers.

"Personally wanted to participate in exposing these unlawful activities [...] to declare that they do not speak for our community," states Saman, a ex- asylum seeker personally. The reporter came to the UK illegally, having escaped from the Kurdish region - a territory that spans the borders of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not officially recognized as a state - because his life was at danger.

The journalists acknowledge that disagreements over unauthorized migration are high in the UK and state they have both been worried that the inquiry could intensify conflicts.

But Ali states that the illegal labor "negatively affects the entire Kurdish community" and he feels driven to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Separately, Ali says he was worried the publication could be used by the far-right.

He states this especially impressed him when he noticed that extreme right campaigner a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom march was happening in the capital on one of the weekends he was working covertly. Placards and banners could be seen at the rally, displaying "we want our nation back".

Both journalists have both been observing online reaction to the inquiry from within the Kurdish-origin community and say it has generated intense outrage for some. One Facebook message they spotted stated: "In what way can we locate and find [the undercover reporters] to kill them like dogs!"

Another demanded their relatives in the Kurdish region to be slaughtered.

They have also read claims that they were agents for the UK authorities, and traitors to other Kurds. "Both of us are not spies, and we have no intention of harming the Kurdish-origin community," one reporter explains. "Our goal is to uncover those who have harmed its standing. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish-origin heritage and extremely troubled about the activities of such people."

Most of those applying for asylum say they are fleeing politically motivated persecution, according to an expert from the a refugee support organization, a organization that assists asylum seekers and asylum seekers in the United Kingdom.

This was the scenario for our covert journalist one investigator, who, when he initially came to the UK, struggled for many years. He explains he had to survive on less than twenty pounds a week while his refugee application was considered.

Refugee applicants now receive about £49 a per week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in housing which provides meals, according to official regulations.

"Practically stating, this isn't enough to maintain a dignified existence," states the expert from the the organization.

Because asylum seekers are mostly prohibited from employment, he thinks numerous are vulnerable to being manipulated and are practically "forced to labor in the illegal economy for as little as £3 per hour".

A representative for the government department stated: "We are unapologetic for refusing to grant asylum seekers the authorization to work - granting this would generate an motivation for people to travel to the UK without authorization."

Asylum applications can require years to be resolved with nearly a third requiring more than one year, according to government data from the end of March this year.

The reporter says being employed illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, hair salon or convenience store would have been quite easy to achieve, but he informed the team he would never have participated in that.

Nonetheless, he says that those he met laboring in unauthorized convenience stores during his research seemed "confused", particularly those whose refugee application has been denied and who were in the appeal stage.

"These individuals expended all their funds to migrate to the UK, they had their asylum denied and now they've lost everything."

The other reporter concurs that these individuals seemed in dire straits.

"When [they] declare you're not allowed to work - but also [you]