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

A pair of Kurdish men agreed to operate secretly to uncover a network behind illegal commercial establishments because the criminals are causing harm the standing of Kurds in the UK, they state.

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

Investigators found that a Kurdish-linked illegal enterprise was running convenience stores, hair salons and vehicle cleaning services across Britain, and aimed to find out more about how it functioned and who was participating.

Armed with secret cameras, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no permission to work, looking to buy and run a small shop from which to trade unlawful tobacco products and vapes.

They were successful to reveal how straightforward it is for someone in these circumstances to set up and run a commercial operation on the main street in plain sight. The individuals involved, we discovered, pay Kurdish individuals who have British citizenship to legally establish the enterprises in their identities, enabling to deceive the officials.

Ali and Saman also were able to discreetly record one of those at the heart of the operation, who asserted that he could eliminate government sanctions of up to £60k encountered those employing illegal employees.

"Personally wanted to play a role in exposing these unlawful operations [...] to declare that they don't characterize our community," says Saman, a ex- asylum seeker himself. Saman came to the country without authorization, having escaped from Kurdistan - a area that straddles the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not globally acknowledged as a state - because his life was at danger.

The reporters acknowledge that disagreements over illegal immigration are significant in the UK and explain they have both been concerned that the investigation could worsen tensions.

But Ali says that the unauthorized working "damages the entire Kurdish-origin community" and he considers driven to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Additionally, the journalist mentions he was concerned the publication could be used by the far-right.

He states this especially struck him when he noticed that far-right activist Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom march was happening in London on one of the weekends he was working undercover. Placards and flags could be seen at the gathering, reading "we want our country back".

The reporters have both been observing online response to the inquiry from inside the Kurdish community and report it has caused strong anger for some. One social media post they found stated: "How can we identify and track [the undercover reporters] to harm them like animals!"

A different demanded their families in the Kurdish region to be slaughtered.

They have also seen accusations that they were spies for the British authorities, and traitors to other Kurds. "Both of us are not informants, and we have no aim of damaging the Kurdish population," one reporter explains. "Our goal is to uncover those who have damaged its image. We are proud of our Kurdish-origin heritage and deeply worried about the activities of such individuals."

The majority of those applying for asylum state they are fleeing political discrimination, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a charitable organization, a charity that helps asylum seekers and refugee applicants in the United Kingdom.

This was the case for our undercover journalist Saman, who, when he first came to the United Kingdom, struggled for many years. He states he had to live on less than twenty pounds a per week while his asylum claim was considered.

Asylum seekers now get approximately £49 a week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in housing which provides food, according to official policies.

"Honestly stating, this isn't enough to maintain a acceptable existence," explains the expert from the RWCA.

Because asylum seekers are largely prohibited from working, he believes many are susceptible to being exploited and are practically "forced to labor in the unofficial sector for as little as three pounds per hour".

A official for the authorities commented: "We make no apology for refusing to grant asylum seekers the right to work - granting this would generate an incentive for individuals to migrate to the UK without authorization."

Asylum applications can require a long time to be decided with approximately a 33% requiring more than one year, according to official statistics from the end of March this year.

Saman explains being employed illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or convenience store would have been very simple to achieve, but he told us he would not have engaged in that.

Nonetheless, he states that those he encountered employed in illegal mini-marts during his research seemed "confused", particularly those whose asylum claim has been denied and who were in the appeals process.

"These individuals spent all of their savings to travel to the United Kingdom, they had their asylum rejected and now they've forfeited their entire investment."

Ali agrees that these individuals seemed hopeless.

"When [they] say you're forbidden to be employed - but also [you]