Why Our Team Chose to Go Covert to Reveal Criminal Activity in the Kurdish Community

A pair of Kurdish men agreed to work covertly to uncover a organization behind unlawful commercial establishments because the wrongdoers are negatively affecting the image of Kurds in the UK, they state.

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

The team found that a Kurdish crime network was operating convenience stores, barbershops and car washes the length of Britain, and sought to discover more about how it functioned and who was involved.

Equipped with secret cameras, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no permission to work, seeking to purchase and run a mini-mart from which to sell illegal cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were able to discover how straightforward it is for an individual in these circumstances to set up and run a commercial operation on the High Street in plain sight. Those participating, we discovered, pay Kurdish individuals who have British citizenship to register the businesses in their names, helping to deceive the officials.

Ali and Saman also managed to discreetly record one of those at the core of the organization, who asserted that he could remove government sanctions of up to sixty thousand pounds encountered those using illegal laborers.

"I sought to contribute in exposing these illegal activities [...] to loudly proclaim that they do not represent Kurdish people," explains one reporter, a former asylum seeker personally. Saman entered the country illegally, having fled Kurdistan - a area that spans the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not officially recognized as a nation - because his well-being was at threat.

The reporters recognize that disagreements over illegal migration are elevated in the UK and state they have both been concerned that the probe could inflame tensions.

But the other reporter says that the unauthorized working "harms the entire Kurdish population" and he feels driven to "bring it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Separately, the journalist explains he was worried the coverage could be used by the extreme right.

He states this especially struck him when he discovered that radical right campaigner Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom march was taking place in the capital on one of the weekends he was operating secretly. Banners and banners could be spotted at the gathering, showing "we want our country back".

Saman and Ali have both been observing online reaction to the investigation from within the Kurdish-origin community and report it has caused significant anger for some. One Facebook post they found read: "How can we locate and track [the undercover reporters] to attack them like dogs!"

Another urged their relatives in Kurdistan to be harmed.

They have also read claims that they were informants for the British government, and betrayers to other Kurdish people. "We are not spies, and we have no desire of harming the Kurdish-origin population," one reporter explains. "Our aim is to uncover those who have harmed its reputation. We are honored of our Kurdish-origin identity and extremely concerned about the actions of such individuals."

The majority of those seeking refugee status say they are fleeing political oppression, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a charitable organization, a organization that assists refugees and refugee applicants in the United Kingdom.

This was the situation for our covert reporter one investigator, who, when he initially came to the United Kingdom, faced difficulties for years. He says he had to survive on less than £20 a per week while his refugee application was considered.

Refugee applicants now are provided about £49 a week - or £9.95 if they are in shelter which includes food, according to government regulations.

"Honestly speaking, this is not adequate to sustain a respectable lifestyle," explains the expert from the RWCA.

Because asylum seekers are largely prevented from working, he believes many are vulnerable to being exploited and are practically "obligated to work in the black economy for as little as £3 per hour".

A representative for the government department stated: "We do not apologize for refusing to grant refugee applicants the authorization to work - doing so would create an motivation for individuals to come to the UK illegally."

Asylum cases can require a long time to be resolved with almost a 33% requiring over a year, according to government figures from the end of March this year.

Saman says working illegally in a car wash, barbershop or mini-mart would have been quite simple to do, but he informed the team he would not have engaged in that.

However, he says that those he interviewed employed in unauthorized convenience stores during his research seemed "lost", notably those whose asylum claim has been rejected and who were in the legal challenge.

"They spent all of their funds to come to the UK, they had their refugee application refused and now they've lost everything."

The other reporter acknowledges that these people seemed in dire straits.

"If [they] state you're not allowed to be employed - but simultaneously [you]