Why We Went Covert to Expose Criminal Activity in the Kurdish Community

A pair of Kurdish-background men decided to work covertly to uncover a operation behind unlawful main street businesses because the wrongdoers are negatively affecting the standing of Kurdish people in the United Kingdom, they state.

The pair, who we are calling Ali and Saman, are Kurdish-origin journalists who have both lived legally in the UK for a long time.

The team uncovered that a Kurdish-linked illegal enterprise was managing convenience stores, hair salons and car washes throughout the United Kingdom, and sought to learn more about how it functioned and who was taking part.

Armed with hidden recording devices, Ali and Saman presented themselves as Kurdish asylum seekers with no right to work, seeking to purchase and run a small shop from which to distribute unlawful cigarettes and vapes.

They were able to uncover how straightforward it is for an individual in these conditions to start and operate a commercial operation on the main street in public view. Those participating, we learned, pay Kurdish individuals who have British citizenship to legally establish the operations in their identities, assisting to mislead the authorities.

Ali and Saman also succeeded to secretly record one of those at the core of the organization, who asserted that he could remove government penalties of up to £60,000 faced those using illegal laborers.

"I wanted to play a role in exposing these illegal operations [...] to say that they do not characterize our community," explains one reporter, a ex- refugee applicant himself. Saman entered the United Kingdom illegally, having fled Kurdistan - a area that straddles the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not internationally recognised as a country - because his life was at danger.

The reporters recognize that conflicts over unauthorized migration are significant in the United Kingdom and say they have both been concerned that the probe could worsen hostilities.

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

Furthermore, Ali says he was worried the coverage could be exploited by the far-right.

He states this particularly impressed him when he noticed that radical right activist a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom rally was taking place in London on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating undercover. Banners and flags could be spotted at the protest, showing "we want our country returned".

Both journalists have both been monitoring online response to the inquiry from inside the Kurdish community and report it has generated strong outrage for certain individuals. One Facebook message they found stated: "In what way can we find and find [the undercover reporters] to attack them like dogs!"

A different called for their families in Kurdistan to be attacked.

They have also seen claims that they were spies for the UK government, and traitors to fellow Kurds. "Both of us are not spies, and we have no intention of damaging the Kurdish population," Saman explains. "Our aim is to expose those who have harmed its image. We are honored of our Kurdish heritage and extremely worried about the actions of such persons."

The majority of those seeking asylum state they are escaping political discrimination, according to an expert from the a charitable organization, a organization that assists asylum seekers and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the case for our undercover reporter Saman, who, when he initially came to the UK, faced difficulties for many years. He states he had to survive on under twenty pounds a per week while his asylum claim was considered.

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

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

Because asylum seekers are mostly prevented from employment, he thinks a significant number are vulnerable to being taken advantage of and are practically "forced to work in the unofficial market for as little as £3 per hourly rate".

A official for the government department stated: "The government do not apologize for not granting asylum seekers the right to work - doing so would establish an incentive for individuals to migrate to the United Kingdom illegally."

Refugee cases can take years to be decided with almost a 33% taking more than a year, according to government figures from the end of March this current year.

Saman states working illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, hair salon or convenience store would have been quite easy to accomplish, but he explained to us he would not have done that.

Nonetheless, he explains that those he encountered laboring in unauthorized convenience stores during his investigation seemed "disoriented", especially those whose refugee application has been denied and who were in the appeals process.

"They used all of their funds to travel to the United Kingdom, they had their asylum denied and now they've lost their entire investment."

The other reporter agrees that these individuals seemed desperate.

"When [they] say you're not allowed to be employed - but additionally [you]