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

Two Kurdish-background individuals agreed to operate secretly to reveal a network behind unlawful High Street establishments because the criminals are damaging the image of Kurds in the United Kingdom, they say.

The pair, who we are referring to as Saman and Ali, are Kurdish journalists who have both resided legally in the United Kingdom for a long time.

Investigators uncovered that a Kurdish criminal operation was running convenience stores, barbershops and car washes the length of the UK, and wanted to learn more about how it operated and who was taking part.

Prepared with covert cameras, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no authorization to be employed, looking to purchase and run a convenience store from which to sell illegal tobacco products and vapes.

They were successful to discover how straightforward it is for a person in these circumstances to establish and operate a business on the High Street in public view. The individuals involved, we found, compensate Kurdish individuals who have UK residency to register the businesses in their identities, enabling to deceive the officials.

Saman and Ali also managed to discreetly document one of those at the centre of the organization, who claimed that he could remove government fines of up to £60k encountered those employing unauthorized laborers.

"Personally aimed to participate in revealing these unlawful activities [...] to say that they do not represent our community," says Saman, a former refugee applicant himself. The reporter came to the UK without authorization, having escaped from the Kurdish region - a region that spans the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not internationally recognised as a country - because his well-being was at danger.

The reporters recognize that disagreements over unauthorized immigration are high in the UK and say they have both been anxious that the probe could inflame conflicts.

But Ali says that the illegal labor "damages the entire Kurdish-origin population" and he feels driven to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Additionally, Ali mentions he was concerned the reporting could be used by the extreme right.

He states this especially affected him when he discovered that radical right activist a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom rally was taking place in London on one of the weekends he was working covertly. Banners and banners could be seen at the gathering, reading "we want our country back".

Saman and Ali have both been monitoring online response to the exposé from inside the Kurdish-origin population and report it has sparked intense outrage for certain individuals. One Facebook message they spotted said: "How can we locate and track [the undercover reporters] to attack them like dogs!"

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

They have also read allegations that they were spies for the British authorities, and betrayers to fellow Kurds. "Both of us are not spies, and we have no intention of damaging the Kurdish-origin population," Saman states. "Our objective is to reveal those who have harmed its reputation. We are proud of our Kurdish-origin heritage and profoundly worried about the behavior of such persons."

Most of those applying for refugee status state they are fleeing political discrimination, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a non-profit that assists refugees and refugee applicants in the United Kingdom.

This was the case for our undercover reporter one investigator, who, when he initially came to the United Kingdom, faced difficulties for many years. He states he had to survive on under £20 a week while his asylum claim was processed.

Asylum seekers now get approximately £49 a week - or £9.95 if they are in shelter which offers meals, according to government policies.

"Honestly stating, this is not enough to maintain a acceptable lifestyle," states Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because asylum seekers are largely prevented from employment, he believes a significant number are vulnerable to being taken advantage of and are effectively "compelled to work in the unofficial sector for as little as £3 per hourly rate".

A official for the Home Office commented: "The government make no apology for refusing to grant asylum seekers the permission to be employed - doing so would generate an incentive for people to travel to the UK illegally."

Refugee applications can require multiple years to be processed with almost a one-third requiring over 12 months, according to official data from the late March this current year.

Saman explains being employed illegally in a car wash, hair salon or mini-mart would have been very simple to accomplish, but he told us he would never have done that.

However, he says that those he encountered laboring in illegal mini-marts during his work seemed "confused", particularly those whose asylum claim has been denied and who were in the legal challenge.

"These individuals expended their entire money to migrate to the United Kingdom, they had their refugee application refused and now they've forfeited everything."

The other reporter acknowledges that these individuals seemed desperate.

"When [they] state you're prohibited to work - but also [you]