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

A pair of Kurdish men consented to go undercover to reveal a network behind illegal main street establishments because the wrongdoers are causing harm the reputation of Kurds in the Britain, they state.

The two, who we are referring to as Saman and Ali, are Kurdish journalists who have both lived lawfully in the UK for years.

The team uncovered that a Kurdish crime network was operating small shops, barbershops and car washes the length of Britain, and sought to find out more about how it worked and who was involved.

Armed with hidden recording devices, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish asylum seekers with no right to work, attempting to buy and operate a convenience store from which to trade contraband cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

They were successful to discover how easy it is for someone in these conditions to start and manage a business on the High Street in full view. Those participating, we learned, pay Kurdish individuals who have British citizenship to legally establish the operations in their identities, helping to fool the officials.

Ali and Saman also managed to discreetly document one of those at the centre of the network, who stated that he could remove official sanctions of up to sixty thousand pounds encountered those using unauthorized workers.

"Personally wanted to contribute in revealing these illegal practices [...] to declare that they do not characterize Kurdish people," explains one reporter, a former refugee applicant himself. Saman came to the country illegally, having escaped from the Kurdish region - a area that covers the borders of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not globally acknowledged as a country - because his safety was at threat.

The investigators acknowledge that conflicts over illegal migration are high in the United Kingdom and state they have both been anxious that the probe could worsen tensions.

But the other reporter states that the illegal labor "negatively affects the entire Kurdish-origin population" and he feels driven to "bring it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Separately, Ali says he was anxious the coverage could be exploited by the far-right.

He says this especially struck him when he realized that far-right activist Tommy Robinson's national unity march was happening in the capital on one of the weekends he was operating secretly. Signs and flags could be observed at the protest, reading "we want our nation back".

Both journalists have both been observing social media reaction to the investigation from inside the Kurdish community and report it has generated intense frustration for some. One Facebook post they observed read: "In what way can we locate and find [the undercover reporters] to harm them like dogs!"

One more urged their families in Kurdistan to be attacked.

They have also encountered allegations that they were agents for the British government, and betrayers to other Kurds. "Both of us are not spies, and we have no desire of damaging the Kurdish community," one reporter says. "Our goal is to uncover those who have damaged its image. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish identity and extremely concerned about the activities of such persons."

The majority of those seeking refugee status say they are fleeing political persecution, according to an expert from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a charity that assists asylum seekers and asylum seekers in the United Kingdom.

This was the scenario for our covert journalist one investigator, who, when he first came to the UK, experienced challenges for years. He explains he had to survive on under £20 a week while his asylum claim was considered.

Refugee applicants now receive approximately forty-nine pounds a week - or £9.95 if they are in shelter which provides food, according to government policies.

"Realistically saying, this is not adequate to support a respectable life," says the expert from the RWCA.

Because asylum seekers are generally prohibited from working, he feels many are susceptible to being manipulated and are essentially "compelled to labor in the black economy for as little as three pounds per hourly rate".

A representative for the authorities said: "We make no apology for not granting refugee applicants the authorization to be employed - doing so would generate an incentive for people to come to the United Kingdom illegally."

Refugee applications can take multiple years to be decided with almost a third taking over one year, according to official statistics from the late March this year.

Saman states being employed 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 never have participated in that.

Nevertheless, he states that those he interviewed working in illegal convenience stores during his investigation seemed "disoriented", particularly those whose refugee application has been denied and who were in the appeals process.

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

Ali agrees that these people seemed hopeless.

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