The Reasons Our Team Went Covert to Uncover Criminal Activity in the Kurdish Population

Two Kurdish-background individuals agreed to work covertly to uncover a operation behind unlawful main street establishments because the lawbreakers are causing harm the standing of Kurds in the United Kingdom, they say.

The two, who we are referring to as Ali and Saman, are Kurdish journalists who have both lived lawfully in the UK for a long time.

Investigators found that a Kurdish crime network was operating convenience stores, barbershops and vehicle cleaning services across the UK, and wanted to learn more about how it worked and who was participating.

Prepared with hidden recording devices, Ali and Saman presented themselves as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no authorization to work, seeking to acquire and operate a mini-mart from which to sell illegal tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were successful to uncover how simple it is for someone in these circumstances to establish and operate a business on the High Street in plain sight. Those involved, we learned, compensate Kurds who have British citizenship to legally establish the operations in their identities, enabling to deceive the officials.

Ali and Saman also managed to covertly document one of those at the centre of the network, who claimed that he could remove official sanctions of up to £60,000 faced those employing unauthorized workers.

"Personally sought to contribute in uncovering these unlawful activities [...] to say that they do not characterize us," explains one reporter, a former refugee applicant himself. Saman entered the United Kingdom illegally, having escaped from Kurdistan - a area that covers the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not officially recognized as a state - because his safety was at threat.

The investigators recognize that disagreements over unauthorized immigration are high in the UK and say they have both been worried that the probe could intensify conflicts.

But Ali explains that the illegal labor "harms the whole Kurdish-origin community" and he believes driven to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Furthermore, the journalist mentions he was worried the publication could be exploited by the radical right.

He states this especially impressed him when he noticed that radical right campaigner Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom protest was taking place in London on one of the weekends he was working covertly. Signs and banners could be spotted at the rally, showing "we want our nation back".

The reporters have both been monitoring online reaction to the inquiry from inside the Kurdish community and report it has sparked strong anger for certain individuals. One Facebook comment they spotted stated: "How can we locate and locate [the undercover reporters] to attack them like animals!"

A different demanded their relatives in the Kurdish region to be attacked.

They have also seen accusations that they were spies for the British government, and traitors to fellow Kurdish people. "We are not informants, and we have no aim of hurting the Kurdish-origin community," one reporter states. "Our aim is to expose those who have compromised its reputation. We are proud of our Kurdish identity and profoundly troubled about the behavior of such persons."

The majority of those applying for asylum state they are fleeing political discrimination, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a charity that helps refugees and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the scenario for our covert journalist one investigator, who, when he first arrived to the UK, experienced challenges for years. He explains he had to survive on under twenty pounds a per week while his asylum claim was processed.

Asylum seekers now get approximately forty-nine pounds a per week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in accommodation which provides food, according to government regulations.

"Honestly speaking, this is not sufficient to support a respectable life," states Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because refugee applicants are largely restricted from employment, he feels many are susceptible to being exploited and are essentially "obligated to work in the black economy for as low as £3 per hour".

A spokesperson for the Home Office stated: "We do not apologize for not granting refugee applicants the right to be employed - doing so would generate an incentive for people to travel to the United Kingdom illegally."

Asylum cases can take multiple years to be decided with approximately a third requiring over 12 months, according to government figures from the end of March this current year.

Saman explains working without authorization in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or mini-mart would have been very straightforward to do, but he explained to the team he would never have participated in that.

Nonetheless, he explains that those he interviewed working in unauthorized mini-marts during his research seemed "lost", especially those whose refugee application has been rejected and who were in the legal challenge.

"They spent all their funds to come to the United Kingdom, they had their refugee application refused and now they've forfeited their entire investment."

The other reporter agrees that these individuals seemed in dire straits.

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