The Reasons We Chose to Go Covert to Expose Criminal Activity in the Kurdish Community

Two Kurdish men agreed to go undercover to reveal a organization behind illegal main street enterprises because the wrongdoers are negatively affecting the image of Kurds in the UK, they state.

The two, who we are calling Saman and Ali, are Kurdish reporters who have both resided lawfully in the UK for years.

The team found that a Kurdish-linked criminal operation was managing mini-marts, hair salons and car washes throughout the United Kingdom, and sought to discover more about how it worked and who was involved.

Armed with covert recording devices, Ali and Saman presented themselves as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no permission to work, seeking to purchase and manage a convenience store from which to distribute contraband cigarettes and vapes.

They were successful to discover how straightforward it is for an individual in these circumstances to establish and run a enterprise on the High Street in public view. The individuals participating, we discovered, compensate Kurds who have British citizenship to register the businesses in their identities, assisting to deceive the authorities.

Ali and Saman also were able to discreetly record one of those at the heart of the organization, who stated that he could remove official penalties of up to £60,000 encountered those hiring illegal workers.

"I aimed to participate in revealing these illegal practices [...] to loudly proclaim that they do not represent Kurdish people," says Saman, a ex- refugee applicant himself. Saman entered the United Kingdom illegally, having fled Kurdistan - a region that spans the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not globally acknowledged as a nation - because his well-being was at danger.

The investigators acknowledge that tensions over unauthorized migration are elevated in the UK and state they have both been anxious that the investigation could intensify conflicts.

But the other reporter states that the unauthorized employment "damages the entire Kurdish population" and he considers obligated to "expose it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Additionally, the journalist explains he was anxious the coverage could be used by the radical right.

He says this notably impressed him when he noticed that extreme right campaigner Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom march was happening in London on one of the weekends he was operating undercover. Banners and banners could be seen at the rally, displaying "we demand our country returned".

The reporters have both been observing online reaction to the inquiry from within the Kurdish-origin community and report it has caused strong anger for some. One social media message they observed stated: "In what way can we find and track [the undercover reporters] to harm them like dogs!"

One more called for their families in Kurdistan to be attacked.

They have also seen claims that they were spies for the UK government, and traitors to fellow Kurds. "Both of us are not informants, and we have no intention of damaging the Kurdish community," Saman says. "Our aim is to uncover those who have compromised its reputation. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish heritage and extremely troubled about the behavior of such individuals."

Most of those applying for asylum state they are escaping political oppression, according to an expert from the a charitable organization, a non-profit that supports refugees and refugee applicants in the United Kingdom.

This was the scenario for our undercover journalist Saman, who, when he initially came to the UK, struggled for many years. He says he had to survive on less than £20 a per week while his refugee application was reviewed.

Asylum seekers now receive approximately forty-nine pounds a per week - or £9.95 if they are in accommodation which includes food, according to Home Office regulations.

"Honestly stating, this is not sufficient to support a respectable life," says Mr Avicil from the RWCA.

Because asylum seekers are generally restricted from working, he thinks a significant number are susceptible to being manipulated and are effectively "obligated to work in the unofficial economy for as low as three pounds per hourly rate".

A representative for the authorities commented: "We make no apology for not granting asylum seekers the right to be employed - granting this would generate an reason for people to travel to the UK illegally."

Asylum cases can take multiple years to be decided with approximately a one-third taking more than one year, according to official data from the late March this current year.

Saman says being employed illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or mini-mart would have been quite straightforward to do, but he explained to us he would not have done that.

Nevertheless, he says that those he interviewed laboring in illegal mini-marts during his research seemed "disoriented", especially those whose asylum claim has been refused and who were in the appeal stage.

"They spent all of their funds to travel to the United Kingdom, they had their asylum denied and now they've lost everything."

Ali concurs that these individuals seemed desperate.

"When [they] state you're forbidden to work - but additionally [you]