Why Our Team Chose to Go Covert to Reveal Criminal Activity in the Kurdish Community

A pair of Kurdish men consented to operate secretly to expose a operation behind unlawful commercial enterprises because the wrongdoers are causing harm the image of Kurds in the UK, they explain.

The pair, who we are calling Saman and Ali, are Kurdish reporters who have both lived lawfully in the United Kingdom for years.

The team found that a Kurdish criminal operation was managing mini-marts, hair salons and car washes across the United Kingdom, and sought to find out more about how it operated and who was taking part.

Equipped with secret cameras, Ali and Saman posed as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no authorization to work, looking to acquire and run a convenience store from which to sell illegal cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were successful to discover how straightforward it is for an individual in these situations to establish and manage a commercial operation on the High Street in public view. The individuals involved, we learned, compensate Kurdish individuals who have British citizenship to legally establish the businesses in their names, helping to mislead the government agencies.

Saman and Ali also managed to discreetly document one of those at the core of the operation, who asserted that he could eliminate official sanctions of up to sixty thousand pounds imposed on those hiring unauthorized employees.

"I wanted to contribute in exposing these illegal activities [...] to say that they do not characterize our community," says Saman, a former refugee applicant himself. The reporter entered the country without authorization, having fled the Kurdish region - a region that covers the boundaries of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not officially recognized as a state - because his safety was at risk.

The investigators admit that disagreements over unauthorized migration are significant in the UK and state they have both been anxious that the inquiry could worsen tensions.

But the other reporter says that the illegal labor "damages the whole Kurdish population" and he considers compelled to "expose it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Separately, the journalist says he was anxious the publication could be used by the radical right.

He explains this especially impressed him when he noticed that radical right campaigner a prominent activist's national unity protest was happening in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was working secretly. Placards and flags could be spotted at the protest, displaying "we demand our nation back".

Saman and Ali have both been monitoring online reaction to the exposé from within the Kurdish population and explain it has generated intense anger for certain individuals. One Facebook post they found said: "How can we identify and locate [the undercover reporters] to kill them like animals!"

One more called for their relatives in Kurdistan to be harmed.

They have also seen allegations that they were agents for the UK government, and traitors to other Kurdish people. "Both of us are not spies, and we have no intention of harming the Kurdish community," Saman says. "Our goal is to reveal those who have damaged its reputation. We are honored of our Kurdish-origin identity and extremely troubled about the actions of such persons."

The majority of those applying for refugee status state they are fleeing political oppression, according to an expert from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a non-profit that helps asylum seekers and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the case for our undercover journalist one investigator, who, when he first came to the UK, struggled for years. He states he had to live on less than £20 a week while his refugee application was processed.

Asylum seekers now receive approximately forty-nine pounds a per week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in shelter which includes food, according to government guidance.

"Practically saying, this is not adequate to support a acceptable lifestyle," says Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because refugee applicants are mostly prohibited from employment, he believes numerous are susceptible to being exploited and are practically "compelled to labor in the unofficial economy for as low as three pounds per hour".

A official for the authorities commented: "The government are unapologetic for denying asylum seekers the authorization to be employed - doing so would create an incentive for people to come to the UK illegally."

Refugee cases can take years to be decided with nearly a one-third taking over one year, according to official figures from the spring this year.

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

Nevertheless, he states that those he interviewed working in unauthorized mini-marts during his investigation seemed "lost", especially those whose refugee application has been rejected and who were in the appeal stage.

"They expended all their funds to migrate to the United Kingdom, they had their asylum refused and now they've lost everything."

Ali agrees that these people seemed hopeless.

"If [they] declare you're prohibited to work - but additionally [you]