Why We Went Covert to Expose Criminal Activity in the Kurdish-origin Population

Two Kurdish men decided to operate secretly to reveal a operation behind unlawful commercial businesses because the lawbreakers are damaging the reputation of Kurdish people in the United Kingdom, they say.

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

The team uncovered that a Kurdish-linked illegal enterprise was running small shops, barbershops and vehicle cleaning services the length of the UK, and wanted to find out more about how it operated and who was involved.

Armed with secret cameras, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no right to be employed, attempting to buy and manage a small shop from which to distribute illegal tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

They were successful to reveal how simple it is for someone in these circumstances to start and manage a enterprise on the High Street in full view. The individuals involved, we found, pay Kurds who have UK citizenship to register the operations in their names, helping to fool the government agencies.

Saman and Ali also were able to covertly document one of those at the heart of the network, who asserted that he could erase official fines of up to £60,000 encountered those employing illegal laborers.

"Personally wanted to play a role in exposing these unlawful activities [...] to loudly proclaim that they do not represent our community," states one reporter, a ex- asylum seeker personally. The reporter entered the United Kingdom without authorization, having fled Kurdistan - a area that spans the boundaries of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not officially recognized as a country - because his well-being was at risk.

The journalists acknowledge that disagreements over illegal immigration are significant in the UK and explain they have both been anxious that the investigation could inflame tensions.

But the other reporter states that the unauthorized working "negatively affects the entire Kurdish community" and he believes driven to "bring it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Furthermore, the journalist explains he was anxious the coverage could be exploited by the extreme right.

He states this notably struck him when he noticed that radical right campaigner a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom march was occurring in London on one of the weekends he was working covertly. Signs and banners could be spotted at the rally, reading "we demand our country back".

Saman and Ali have both been monitoring social media response to the investigation from within the Kurdish-origin population and say it has caused significant outrage for some. One Facebook comment they observed said: "How can we identify and locate [the undercover reporters] to harm them like dogs!"

A different urged their relatives in Kurdistan to be slaughtered.

They have also encountered accusations that they were agents for the UK authorities, and traitors to fellow Kurds. "Both of us are not informants, and we have no desire of damaging the Kurdish-origin population," Saman explains. "Our goal is to expose those who have harmed its reputation. We are proud of our Kurdish identity and profoundly concerned about the activities of such people."

The majority of those seeking asylum say they are escaping political oppression, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a charitable organization, a organization that assists refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the case for our undercover reporter one investigator, who, when he initially arrived to the United Kingdom, struggled for many years. He explains he had to survive on under £20 a week while his refugee application was processed.

Asylum seekers now get about £49 a week - or £9.95 if they are in shelter which provides meals, according to government policies.

"Realistically speaking, this isn't enough to maintain a acceptable lifestyle," says the expert from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are largely prohibited from employment, he thinks numerous are open to being manipulated and are practically "obligated to work in the unofficial market for as little as three pounds per hourly rate".

A representative for the government department said: "We do not apologize for refusing to grant refugee applicants the permission to work - granting this would create an motivation for individuals to come to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Refugee cases can require multiple years to be resolved with nearly a 33% taking more than one year, according to government data from the spring this current year.

Saman states working illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or mini-mart would have been extremely simple to achieve, but he told us he would never have done that.

Nevertheless, he explains that those he interviewed working in unauthorized mini-marts during his work seemed "confused", particularly those whose asylum claim has been rejected and who were in the appeal stage.

"These individuals expended all of their money to migrate to the United Kingdom, they had their refugee application refused and now they've sacrificed everything."

Ali agrees that these people seemed desperate.

"If [they] say you're not allowed to be employed - but additionally [you]