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

Two Kurdish men agreed to work covertly to reveal a organization behind illegal commercial establishments because the criminals are negatively affecting the image of Kurds in the Britain, they explain.

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

Investigators uncovered that a Kurdish-linked criminal operation was running small shops, hair salons and car washes the length of the United Kingdom, and aimed to discover more about how it operated and who was taking part.

Prepared with covert recording devices, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish asylum seekers with no authorization to be employed, seeking to buy and run a mini-mart from which to trade illegal cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were successful to reveal how easy it is for an individual in these situations to set up and run a commercial operation on the main street in plain sight. Those participating, we learned, compensate Kurds who have UK residency to register the enterprises in their names, assisting to deceive the government agencies.

Ali and Saman also were able to discreetly film one of those at the core of the operation, who claimed that he could remove official penalties of up to £60,000 faced those employing unauthorized workers.

"Personally aimed to contribute in exposing these illegal activities [...] to say that they do not characterize our community," explains Saman, a ex- refugee applicant personally. The reporter entered the United Kingdom without authorization, having escaped from Kurdistan - a territory that covers the boundaries of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not internationally recognised as a country - because his safety was at risk.

The journalists acknowledge that conflicts over illegal migration are significant in the UK and state they have both been worried that the probe could inflame tensions.

But Ali says that the unauthorized employment "negatively affects the entire Kurdish population" and he believes obligated to "expose it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Additionally, the journalist mentions he was worried the reporting could be seized upon by the far-right.

He states this especially impressed him when he discovered that radical right activist a prominent activist's national unity rally was taking place in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was working secretly. Banners and banners could be spotted at the protest, showing "we demand our nation back".

Saman and Ali have both been monitoring social media feedback to the investigation from within the Kurdish population and explain it has sparked significant anger for certain individuals. One Facebook message they found said: "How can we find and find [the undercover reporters] to attack them like dogs!"

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

They have also read allegations that they were agents for the UK authorities, and betrayers to other Kurdish people. "Both of us are not spies, and we have no aim of harming the Kurdish population," Saman says. "Our aim is to uncover those who have harmed its reputation. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish identity and deeply troubled about the behavior of such persons."

The majority of those seeking refugee status claim they are fleeing politically motivated oppression, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a charitable organization, a organization that helps asylum seekers and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the situation for our covert journalist one investigator, who, when he initially arrived to the UK, struggled for many years. He says he had to live on less than twenty pounds a per week while his refugee application was processed.

Refugee applicants now receive approximately forty-nine pounds a per week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in accommodation which offers food, according to government policies.

"Practically speaking, this is not adequate to support a respectable life," says Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because refugee applicants are largely prevented from working, he feels a significant number are vulnerable to being taken advantage of and are essentially "forced to labor in the unofficial economy for as low as £3 per hour".

A spokesperson for the authorities said: "The government are unapologetic for denying asylum seekers the authorization to work - doing so would establish an motivation for people to migrate to the UK without authorization."

Asylum cases can require multiple years to be resolved with almost a one-third taking more than a year, according to official figures from the late March this current year.

The reporter says working illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, hair salon or mini-mart would have been quite easy to do, but he informed the team he would never have done that.

However, he explains that those he interviewed laboring in unauthorized convenience stores during his research seemed "lost", notably those whose refugee application has been rejected and who were in the appeals process.

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

Ali agrees that these individuals seemed desperate.

"If [they] declare you're not allowed to work - but also [you]