The Reasons We Went Undercover to Uncover Criminal Activity in the Kurdish-origin Population

A pair of Kurdish men agreed to work covertly to expose a network behind illegal commercial enterprises because the wrongdoers are negatively affecting the standing of Kurds in the Britain, they explain.

The two, who we are calling Ali and Saman, are Kurdish-origin reporters who have both lived lawfully in the United Kingdom for years.

Investigators discovered that a Kurdish illegal enterprise was operating small shops, barbershops and car washes throughout the UK, and aimed to discover more about how it functioned and who was taking part.

Armed with covert cameras, Ali and Saman posed as Kurdish refugee applicants with no permission to work, looking to buy and run a small shop from which to trade illegal cigarettes and vapes.

The investigators were successful to uncover how simple it is for someone in these circumstances to set up and run a commercial operation on the commercial area in public view. The individuals involved, we learned, compensate Kurds who have British citizenship to legally establish the operations in their identities, assisting to mislead the officials.

Saman and Ali also were able to secretly document one of those at the core of the network, who claimed that he could remove government penalties of up to £60,000 encountered those employing unauthorized workers.

"Personally wanted to participate in uncovering these illegal activities [...] to say that they don't represent us," says Saman, a ex- refugee applicant himself. The reporter entered the UK illegally, having fled Kurdistan - a area that covers the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not internationally recognised as a state - because his life was at risk.

The reporters admit that conflicts over unauthorized migration are high in the UK and say they have both been worried that the inquiry could inflame tensions.

But the other reporter says that the illegal labor "damages the whole Kurdish-origin population" and he feels obligated to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Furthermore, Ali explains he was worried the coverage could be seized upon by the radical right.

He says this especially affected him when he realized that far-right campaigner Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom protest was happening in London on one of the weekends he was operating undercover. Banners and banners could be observed at the gathering, reading "we demand our country back".

Both journalists have both been monitoring social media reaction to the exposé from inside the Kurdish community and report it has caused significant outrage for some. One Facebook message they observed said: "How can we locate and track [the undercover reporters] to harm them like animals!"

Another called for their families in Kurdistan to be slaughtered.

They have also seen accusations that they were informants for the UK government, and betrayers to fellow Kurdish people. "Both of us are not informants, and we have no aim of hurting the Kurdish-origin population," one reporter explains. "Our objective is to expose those who have damaged its image. We are proud of our Kurdish-origin identity and extremely concerned about the activities of such individuals."

The majority of those seeking refugee status state they are fleeing politically motivated discrimination, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a refugee support organization, a charity that assists asylum seekers and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the scenario for our undercover journalist Saman, who, when he first arrived to the UK, struggled for many years. He says he had to survive on less than £20 a per week while his asylum claim was reviewed.

Refugee applicants now get approximately £49 a week - or £9.95 if they are in shelter which offers food, according to government regulations.

"Honestly stating, this isn't enough to support a dignified existence," states Mr Avicil from the RWCA.

Because asylum seekers are generally prohibited from working, he believes many are susceptible to being exploited and are effectively "obligated to work in the black market for as little as three pounds per hour".

A spokesperson for the authorities commented: "We do not apologize for refusing to grant asylum seekers the permission to be employed - granting this would generate an reason for individuals to migrate to the United Kingdom illegally."

Asylum applications can take multiple years to be processed with almost a 33% requiring more than one year, according to government statistics from the end of March this current year.

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

Nevertheless, he explains that those he met working in unauthorized convenience stores during his investigation seemed "lost", especially those whose asylum claim has been rejected and who were in the legal challenge.

"They spent all of their funds to travel to the UK, they had their refugee application denied and now they've lost their entire investment."

Ali acknowledges that these people seemed hopeless.

"When [they] say you're prohibited to work - but additionally [you]