The Reasons Our Team Went Undercover to Uncover Crime in the Kurdish Population

Two Kurdish men decided to go undercover to expose a operation behind unlawful main street establishments because the criminals are damaging the reputation of Kurds in the United Kingdom, they state.

The two, who we are referring to as Saman and Ali, are Kurdish reporters who have both lived legally in the United Kingdom for many years.

Investigators discovered that a Kurdish criminal operation was running small shops, barbershops and car washes throughout the UK, and wanted to learn more about how it worked and who was taking part.

Equipped with hidden cameras, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no permission to work, looking to purchase and operate a convenience store from which to distribute illegal tobacco products and vapes.

They were successful to discover how simple it is for someone in these situations to establish and manage a commercial operation on the High Street in full view. The individuals participating, we learned, compensate Kurdish individuals who have UK citizenship to register the enterprises in their names, helping to fool the officials.

Saman and Ali also were able to discreetly record one of those at the centre of the network, who stated that he could remove government sanctions of up to sixty thousand pounds encountered those hiring illegal laborers.

"I sought to contribute in exposing these illegal activities [...] to loudly proclaim that they don't represent us," explains Saman, a former asylum seeker personally. Saman came to the country without authorization, having escaped from the Kurdish region - a territory that covers the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not officially recognized as a country - because his well-being was at danger.

The journalists recognize that tensions over illegal immigration are significant in the UK and explain they have both been anxious that the inquiry could worsen tensions.

But Ali says that the unauthorized labor "negatively affects the entire Kurdish population" and he considers obligated to "expose it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Additionally, Ali says he was worried the coverage could be exploited by the radical right.

He states this especially impressed him when he realized that radical right campaigner a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom rally was occurring in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating undercover. Banners and flags could be spotted at the rally, displaying "we demand our country returned".

Saman and Ali have both been monitoring social media feedback to the exposé from within the Kurdish-origin community and report it has caused significant outrage for certain individuals. One Facebook comment they spotted read: "In what way can we identify and track [the undercover reporters] to attack them like animals!"

A different demanded their relatives in the Kurdish region to be attacked.

They have also encountered claims that they were agents for the British government, and betrayers to fellow Kurdish people. "Both of us are not informants, and we have no intention of hurting the Kurdish community," Saman says. "Our aim is to uncover those who have compromised its reputation. We are honored of our Kurdish-origin heritage and deeply worried about the activities of such individuals."

Most of those seeking asylum say they are fleeing political oppression, according to an expert from the a charitable organization, a charity that assists asylum seekers and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the case for our covert reporter one investigator, who, when he initially came to the UK, experienced challenges for many years. He explains he had to survive on less than £20 a week while his refugee application was processed.

Asylum seekers now get approximately £49 a week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in accommodation which provides meals, according to government guidance.

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

Because refugee applicants are largely restricted from employment, he thinks a significant number are vulnerable to being taken advantage of and are essentially "obligated to labor in the illegal economy for as little as £3 per hourly rate".

A official for the authorities said: "The government make no apology for refusing to grant refugee applicants the permission to be employed - granting this would create an motivation for people to travel to the United Kingdom illegally."

Asylum cases can take years to be processed with almost a one-third taking more than 12 months, according to government figures from the end of March this year.

Saman states being employed illegally in a car wash, barbershop or mini-mart would have been very easy to achieve, but he explained to us he would not have participated in that.

Nevertheless, he explains that those he interviewed working in unauthorized convenience stores during his work seemed "disoriented", notably those whose refugee application has been refused and who were in the appeal stage.

"They expended all their savings to migrate to the UK, they had their refugee application rejected and now they've forfeited all they had."

Ali concurs that these people seemed desperate.

"If [they] state you're forbidden to work - but also [you]