The Reasons Our Team Chose to Go Undercover to Expose Crime in the Kurdish-origin Community

A pair of Kurdish men decided to operate secretly to expose a operation behind unlawful High Street establishments because the criminals are negatively affecting the image of Kurds in the Britain, they say.

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

Investigators uncovered that a Kurdish-linked illegal enterprise was running mini-marts, hair salons and vehicle cleaning services across Britain, and aimed to learn more about how it functioned and who was taking part.

Prepared with secret cameras, Ali and Saman posed as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no permission to be employed, looking to buy and operate a convenience store from which to sell contraband tobacco products and vapes.

The investigators were able to uncover how straightforward it is for someone in these conditions to set up and manage a commercial operation on the main street in plain sight. The individuals participating, we learned, compensate Kurdish individuals who have British citizenship to legally establish the enterprises in their names, enabling to deceive the government agencies.

Saman and Ali also were able to covertly record one of those at the heart of the organization, who asserted that he could remove government fines of up to £60k imposed on those using illegal workers.

"I wanted to play a role in revealing these illegal operations [...] to say that they do not speak for Kurdish people," states one reporter, a former refugee applicant personally. Saman came to the United Kingdom without authorization, having fled the Kurdish region - a region that straddles the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not globally acknowledged as a country - because his life was at risk.

The journalists admit that conflicts over unauthorized migration are high in the UK and state they have both been anxious that the investigation could worsen tensions.

But the other reporter states that the unauthorized labor "negatively affects the entire Kurdish-origin population" and he considers obligated to "expose it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Separately, Ali explains he was worried the coverage could be exploited by the radical right.

He states this especially struck him when he discovered that extreme right activist a prominent activist's national unity rally was happening in London on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was working covertly. Placards and banners could be spotted at the rally, displaying "we want our country back".

Saman and Ali have both been tracking social media reaction to the investigation from within the Kurdish-origin community and report it has caused strong outrage for certain individuals. One social media post they observed read: "How can we identify and find [the undercover reporters] to attack them like animals!"

Another demanded their families in Kurdistan to be harmed.

They have also read claims that they were informants for the UK government, and betrayers to fellow Kurds. "Both of us are not spies, and we have no intention of hurting the Kurdish-origin community," one reporter states. "Our goal is to expose those who have harmed its reputation. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish-origin heritage and deeply concerned about the actions of such individuals."

Most of those applying for asylum state they are escaping politically motivated persecution, according to an expert from the a refugee support organization, a organization 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 United Kingdom, struggled for many years. He says he had to live on less than twenty pounds a per week while his refugee application was processed.

Asylum seekers now receive about £49 a week - or £9.95 if they are in housing which provides meals, according to official policies.

"Realistically stating, this isn't enough to maintain a acceptable life," states the expert from the the organization.

Because asylum seekers are largely prevented from employment, he thinks many are vulnerable to being exploited and are essentially "forced to labor in the black market for as little as three pounds per hour".

A representative for the authorities said: "We make no apology for denying asylum seekers the right to be employed - doing so would establish an reason for people to come to the UK illegally."

Refugee cases can require multiple years to be decided with almost a 33% requiring more than 12 months, according to government figures from the end of March this year.

The reporter says working without authorization in a car wash, barbershop or mini-mart would have been extremely simple to do, but he explained to the team he would not have participated in that.

Nevertheless, he states that those he interviewed working in illegal convenience stores during his research seemed "lost", especially those whose asylum claim has been rejected and who were in the appeal stage.

"They expended all their savings to travel to the UK, they had their refugee application denied and now they've sacrificed all they had."

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

"If [they] declare you're not allowed to be employed - but also [you]