Why Our Team Chose to Go Undercover to Expose Criminal Activity in the Kurdish-origin Population

A pair of Kurdish-background men agreed to operate secretly to uncover a organization behind illegal main street businesses because the criminals are negatively affecting the image of Kurds in the Britain, they state.

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

Investigators found that a Kurdish crime network was running mini-marts, barbershops and car washes throughout the United Kingdom, and sought to find out more about how it functioned and who was participating.

Equipped with hidden recording devices, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish asylum seekers with no authorization to work, looking to acquire and manage a small shop from which to sell contraband tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

They were able to uncover how simple it is for an individual in these conditions to establish and operate a commercial operation on the commercial area in full view. The individuals participating, we found, pay Kurdish individuals who have British citizenship to legally establish the operations in their identities, enabling to deceive the officials.

Ali and Saman also were able to discreetly record one of those at the centre of the network, who asserted that he could erase government fines of up to £60k imposed on those hiring illegal workers.

"Personally aimed to participate in uncovering these illegal activities [...] to declare that they do not characterize us," states one reporter, a ex- refugee applicant himself. The reporter came to the United Kingdom illegally, having escaped from Kurdistan - a area that spans the borders of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not officially recognized as a nation - because his life was at danger.

The investigators acknowledge that disagreements over illegal immigration are high in the UK and state they have both been anxious that the probe could intensify hostilities.

But the other reporter says that the unauthorized employment "damages the entire Kurdish community" and he feels obligated to "bring it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Separately, the journalist explains he was concerned the publication could be used by the extreme right.

He explains this notably impressed him when he noticed that far-right activist Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom rally was happening in London on one of the weekends he was operating secretly. Banners and banners could be seen at the protest, reading "we demand our country back".

The reporters have both been monitoring social media response to the investigation from inside the Kurdish-origin community and explain it has caused significant outrage for some. One Facebook post they spotted said: "In what way can we identify and find [the undercover reporters] to kill them like animals!"

Another demanded their relatives in Kurdistan to be slaughtered.

They have also read allegations that they were informants for the British authorities, and betrayers to fellow Kurds. "Both of us are not spies, and we have no intention of hurting the Kurdish-origin community," Saman explains. "Our aim is to expose those who have damaged its reputation. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish heritage and extremely troubled about the actions of such people."

Most of those seeking refugee status state they are fleeing politically motivated oppression, according to an expert from the a refugee support organization, a non-profit that supports asylum seekers and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the situation for our undercover journalist one investigator, who, when he initially arrived to the UK, experienced challenges for years. He states he had to live on under twenty pounds a per week while his refugee application was reviewed.

Refugee applicants now receive approximately £49 a per week - or £9.95 if they are in shelter which includes meals, according to government policies.

"Practically speaking, this is not sufficient to maintain a acceptable lifestyle," says Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because refugee applicants are mostly restricted from employment, he thinks many are vulnerable to being taken advantage of and are effectively "compelled to work in the unofficial market for as low as £3 per hour".

A representative for the authorities commented: "The government are unapologetic for denying asylum seekers the permission to be employed - doing so would establish an reason for individuals to migrate to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Asylum cases can require years to be decided with nearly a one-third taking more than a year, according to official statistics from the late March this year.

Saman states being employed without authorization in a car wash, barbershop or mini-mart would have been extremely simple to do, but he told us he would never have done that.

Nonetheless, he explains that those he encountered laboring in unauthorized convenience stores during his investigation seemed "confused", particularly those whose asylum claim has been denied and who were in the legal challenge.

"They used their entire money to come to the United Kingdom, they had their asylum denied and now they've sacrificed all they had."

The other reporter acknowledges that these individuals seemed desperate.

"When [they] state you're not allowed to work - but simultaneously [you]