The Reasons We Chose to Go Undercover to Reveal Criminal Activity in the Kurdish Population

Two Kurdish individuals decided to work covertly to uncover a operation behind illegal High Street establishments because the wrongdoers are negatively affecting the standing of Kurds in the Britain, they say.

The pair, who we are referring to as Ali and Saman, are Kurdish-origin investigators who have both lived lawfully in the UK for many years.

The team discovered that a Kurdish-linked crime network was managing mini-marts, barbershops and car washes across the United Kingdom, and wanted to learn more about how it functioned and who was taking part.

Armed with covert cameras, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish refugee applicants with no right to work, seeking to acquire and manage a small shop from which to trade contraband tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were successful to uncover how simple it is for someone in these situations to establish and operate a enterprise on the commercial area in public view. Those involved, we found, compensate Kurds who have UK residency to register the operations in their names, assisting to deceive the authorities.

Saman and Ali also succeeded to secretly document one of those at the heart of the network, who claimed that he could erase government fines of up to £60k encountered those hiring illegal laborers.

"I aimed to participate in revealing these illegal operations [...] to say that they don't represent us," states one reporter, a ex- refugee applicant personally. Saman 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 officially recognized as a country - because his well-being was at risk.

The journalists acknowledge that conflicts over unauthorized migration are elevated in the UK and state they have both been concerned that the probe could worsen conflicts.

But the other reporter states that the unauthorized working "harms the whole Kurdish community" and he believes compelled to "expose it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Additionally, Ali mentions he was worried the coverage could be exploited by the far-right.

He says this especially affected him when he realized that far-right activist Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom march was happening in the capital on one of the weekends he was working undercover. Banners and banners could be seen at the gathering, reading "we demand our nation back".

The reporters have both been tracking online reaction to the investigation from within the Kurdish-origin population and say it has sparked intense frustration for some. One Facebook message they spotted read: "How can we locate and locate [the undercover reporters] to harm them like animals!"

A different urged their relatives in the Kurdish region to be slaughtered.

They have also seen allegations that they were informants for the UK authorities, and betrayers to other Kurdish people. "Both of us are not informants, and we have no intention of damaging the Kurdish-origin population," one reporter says. "Our aim is to expose those who have damaged its reputation. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish-origin heritage and extremely concerned about the behavior of such people."

Most of those seeking refugee status state they are fleeing political discrimination, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a refugee support organization, a charity that helps asylum seekers and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the situation for our covert reporter one investigator, who, when he first arrived to the United Kingdom, faced difficulties for many years. He states he had to survive on under £20 a per week while his asylum claim was considered.

Refugee applicants now get about forty-nine pounds a week - or £9.95 if they are in housing which includes meals, according to Home Office policies.

"Practically speaking, this is not adequate to sustain a respectable existence," explains Mr Avicil from the RWCA.

Because asylum seekers are largely restricted from working, he feels numerous are vulnerable to being taken advantage of and are practically "forced to work in the illegal sector for as low as three pounds per hour".

A spokesperson for the authorities commented: "The government make no apology for denying refugee applicants the right to be employed - granting this would generate an incentive for people to come to the United Kingdom illegally."

Asylum cases can require years to be processed with approximately a one-third requiring more than one year, according to government statistics from the late March this year.

The reporter explains working illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, hair salon or mini-mart would have been very easy to achieve, but he explained to us he would never have done that.

Nevertheless, he states that those he interviewed employed in illegal mini-marts during his research seemed "disoriented", especially those whose refugee application has been refused and who were in the appeal stage.

"These individuals used all their funds to migrate to the UK, they had their refugee application rejected and now they've forfeited everything."

Ali acknowledges that these people seemed desperate.

"If [they] say you're prohibited to work - but simultaneously [you]