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

A pair of Kurdish-background individuals decided to go undercover to reveal a network behind illegal commercial establishments because the criminals are negatively affecting the reputation of Kurds in the Britain, they say.

The pair, who we are calling Ali and Saman, are Kurdish-origin investigators who have both resided lawfully in the UK for many years.

The team found that a Kurdish-linked criminal operation was operating convenience stores, hair salons and car washes the length of Britain, and wanted to find out more about how it worked and who was involved.

Equipped with hidden cameras, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish asylum seekers with no authorization to work, seeking to acquire and run a mini-mart from which to sell unlawful cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were able to discover how simple it is for a person in these conditions to establish and run a enterprise on the commercial area in full view. Those participating, we found, compensate Kurdish individuals who have UK residency to legally establish the operations in their names, enabling to mislead the authorities.

Saman and Ali also managed to covertly film one of those at the core of the organization, who asserted that he could eliminate official sanctions of up to £60,000 imposed on those using unauthorized laborers.

"Personally wanted to participate in exposing these illegal activities [...] to say that they don't speak for us," states one reporter, a ex- asylum seeker himself. The reporter came to the UK illegally, having fled Kurdistan - a region that straddles the borders of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not globally acknowledged as a country - because his life was at danger.

The reporters recognize that tensions over illegal migration are elevated in the United Kingdom and explain they have both been anxious that the probe could intensify conflicts.

But Ali explains that the unauthorized employment "damages the entire Kurdish community" and he considers driven to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Furthermore, the journalist explains he was anxious the publication could be exploited by the far-right.

He states this notably affected him when he discovered that radical right activist Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom march was occurring in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was working secretly. Signs and banners could be observed at the protest, displaying "we demand our country back".

The reporters have both been tracking social media reaction to the inquiry from inside the Kurdish-origin community and say it has sparked significant frustration for some. One social media message they spotted stated: "In what way can we find and locate [the undercover reporters] to kill them like dogs!"

Another demanded their relatives in the Kurdish region to be harmed.

They have also read accusations that they were informants for the UK authorities, and betrayers to fellow Kurds. "Both of us are not informants, and we have no desire of damaging the Kurdish population," Saman says. "Our aim is to reveal those who have harmed its reputation. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish identity and deeply concerned about the activities of such individuals."

Most of those seeking refugee status say they are escaping political discrimination, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a refugee support organization, a organization that helps asylum seekers and asylum seekers in the United Kingdom.

This was the situation for our undercover reporter one investigator, who, when he first arrived to the United Kingdom, faced difficulties for years. He explains he had to survive on less than £20 a week while his asylum claim was processed.

Asylum seekers now get approximately £49 a week - or £9.95 if they are in housing which offers food, according to official regulations.

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

Because refugee applicants are largely prevented from working, he thinks a significant number are susceptible to being manipulated and are practically "compelled to labor in the unofficial market for as low as £3 per hourly rate".

A spokesperson for the Home Office commented: "We make no apology for not granting asylum seekers the permission to be employed - doing so would create an incentive for people to travel to the UK illegally."

Asylum applications can take multiple years to be processed with approximately a one-third taking over a year, according to government figures from the late March this year.

The reporter says being employed without authorization in a car wash, barbershop or convenience store would have been quite simple to do, but he informed us he would not have participated in that.

Nonetheless, he states that those he interviewed laboring in illegal mini-marts during his work seemed "confused", especially those whose asylum claim has been denied and who were in the appeals process.

"They expended all their money to migrate to the UK, they had their refugee application denied and now they've sacrificed their entire investment."

Ali concurs that these people seemed in dire straits.

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