Why We Went Undercover to Reveal Criminal Activity in the Kurdish-origin Population

Two Kurdish men agreed to work covertly to reveal a organization behind unlawful commercial establishments because the lawbreakers are negatively affecting the standing of Kurds in the UK, they state.

The pair, who we are referring to as Ali and Saman, are Kurdish-origin investigators who have both resided legally in the UK for years.

The team found that a Kurdish-linked illegal enterprise was operating convenience stores, barbershops and car washes the length of the United Kingdom, and aimed to find out more about how it functioned and who was taking part.

Prepared with secret recording devices, Ali and Saman posed as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no permission to work, looking to purchase and operate a mini-mart from which to sell contraband cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

They were successful to uncover how easy it is for an individual in these circumstances to set up and manage a enterprise on the commercial area in public view. Those participating, we discovered, pay Kurdish individuals who have UK residency to legally establish the enterprises in their names, enabling to deceive the authorities.

Saman and Ali also managed to secretly film one of those at the core of the organization, who claimed that he could erase government penalties of up to £60,000 faced those employing illegal workers.

"Personally sought to play a role in exposing these unlawful activities [...] to loudly proclaim that they don't characterize us," says one reporter, a former refugee applicant personally. Saman came to the country illegally, having fled Kurdistan - a area that spans the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not internationally recognised as a state - because his well-being was at risk.

The investigators admit that disagreements over illegal immigration are significant in the UK and say they have both been concerned that the probe could worsen tensions.

But the other reporter explains that the illegal working "damages the entire Kurdish population" and he considers driven to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Furthermore, the journalist says he was worried the reporting could be exploited by the far-right.

He explains this particularly struck him when he noticed that extreme right activist Tommy Robinson's national unity rally was taking place in London on one of the weekends he was working covertly. Banners and flags could be spotted at the gathering, displaying "we demand our nation returned".

Both journalists have both been monitoring online reaction to the investigation from within the Kurdish-origin population and explain it has caused intense anger for certain individuals. One social media message they observed read: "How can we identify and find [the undercover reporters] to kill them like animals!"

Another urged their relatives in the Kurdish region to be slaughtered.

They have also encountered accusations that they were spies for the British government, and traitors to fellow Kurdish people. "We are not spies, and we have no aim of hurting the Kurdish community," Saman explains. "Our aim is to reveal those who have harmed its standing. We are proud of our Kurdish-origin identity and extremely concerned about the behavior of such individuals."

Most of those seeking refugee status state they are escaping political discrimination, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a charitable organization, a organization that supports asylum seekers and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the case for our covert journalist Saman, who, when he initially came to the UK, faced difficulties for many years. He explains he had to survive on less than twenty pounds a per week while his asylum claim was reviewed.

Refugee applicants now get approximately £49 a per week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in housing which provides meals, according to government regulations.

"Realistically stating, this isn't adequate to maintain a acceptable life," states the expert from the RWCA.

Because asylum seekers are mostly prohibited from working, he believes a significant number are open to being taken advantage of and are practically "forced to work in the illegal sector for as low as three pounds per hourly rate".

A spokesperson for the government department commented: "The government are unapologetic for denying asylum seekers the permission to be employed - granting this would establish an motivation for individuals to come to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Refugee applications can require years to be decided with approximately a third taking more than a year, according to government statistics from the end of March this current year.

The reporter says being employed illegally in a car wash, barbershop or mini-mart would have been extremely easy to accomplish, but he informed us he would not have done that.

Nevertheless, he says that those he encountered employed in illegal mini-marts during his work seemed "confused", especially those whose asylum claim has been denied and who were in the legal challenge.

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

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

"If [they] declare you're forbidden to be employed - but simultaneously [you]