The Reasons Our Team Chose to Go Covert to Uncover Criminal Activity in the Kurdish Population

A pair of Kurdish-background men consented to go undercover to expose a network behind unlawful commercial businesses because the wrongdoers are causing harm the reputation of Kurds in the UK, they state.

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

Investigators uncovered that a Kurdish illegal enterprise was operating convenience stores, barbershops and vehicle cleaning services throughout Britain, and aimed to find out more about how it operated and who was taking part.

Equipped with hidden cameras, Ali and Saman presented themselves as Kurdish asylum seekers with no authorization to be employed, seeking to acquire and manage a convenience store from which to sell unlawful cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were able to reveal how easy it is for a person in these circumstances to establish and operate a enterprise on the High Street in public view. The individuals participating, we discovered, pay Kurds who have UK citizenship to legally establish the enterprises in their identities, assisting to deceive the government agencies.

Saman and Ali also managed to covertly film one of those at the centre of the operation, who stated that he could eliminate government fines of up to sixty thousand pounds imposed on those hiring illegal employees.

"Personally sought to participate in uncovering these illegal activities [...] to loudly proclaim that they don't represent our community," states one reporter, a former asylum seeker personally. The reporter came to the United Kingdom illegally, having escaped from Kurdistan - a territory that covers the boundaries of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not officially recognized as a country - because his well-being was at threat.

The investigators acknowledge that conflicts over illegal migration are significant in the UK and state they have both been concerned that the investigation could intensify tensions.

But Ali states that the illegal employment "damages the entire Kurdish population" and he believes obligated to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Furthermore, the journalist says he was worried the reporting could be exploited by the far-right.

He states this notably impressed him when he noticed that extreme right activist Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom march was occurring in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was working covertly. Signs and banners could be observed at the gathering, displaying "we demand our nation back".

Saman and Ali have both been monitoring social media feedback to the exposé from within the Kurdish-origin population and explain it has sparked intense anger for some. One social media post they spotted said: "How can we find and locate [the undercover reporters] to kill them like dogs!"

One more urged their relatives in Kurdistan to be slaughtered.

They have also encountered claims that they were informants for the UK government, and betrayers to fellow Kurds. "We are not informants, and we have no intention of damaging the Kurdish-origin community," Saman explains. "Our aim is to expose those who have compromised its standing. We are proud of our Kurdish identity and deeply concerned about the actions of such people."

The majority of those applying for asylum state they are fleeing politically motivated discrimination, according to an expert from the a charitable organization, a non-profit that assists asylum seekers and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the situation for our undercover journalist Saman, who, when he first came to the United Kingdom, faced difficulties for many years. He states he had to live on less than £20 a week while his refugee application was reviewed.

Refugee applicants now are provided about forty-nine pounds a per week - or £9.95 if they are in shelter which offers food, according to Home Office policies.

"Practically stating, this isn't adequate to sustain a respectable lifestyle," states Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because asylum seekers are generally prohibited from working, he thinks many are open to being manipulated and are effectively "obligated to work in the unofficial market for as little as three pounds per hourly rate".

A representative for the government department commented: "The government make no apology for denying asylum seekers the right to work - doing so would establish an incentive for individuals to travel to the United Kingdom illegally."

Asylum cases can require multiple years to be resolved with almost a one-third requiring over a year, according to official figures from the end of March this year.

The reporter explains working illegally in a car wash, hair salon or mini-mart would have been very simple to achieve, but he informed the team he would never have engaged in that.

However, he says that those he met laboring in illegal convenience stores during his research seemed "confused", particularly those whose refugee application has been rejected and who were in the appeal stage.

"These individuals expended all of their funds to travel to the UK, they had their asylum refused and now they've sacrificed their entire investment."

The other reporter concurs that these people seemed hopeless.

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