The Reasons Our Team Went Covert to Reveal Crime in the Kurdish Community

A pair of Kurdish individuals consented to work covertly to uncover a network behind unlawful main street enterprises because the lawbreakers are damaging the reputation of Kurdish people in the Britain, they explain.

The two, who we are calling Ali and Saman, are Kurdish-origin journalists who have both resided lawfully in the UK for a long time.

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

Prepared with hidden cameras, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no right to work, seeking to acquire and run a mini-mart from which to sell unlawful cigarettes and vapes.

They were successful to discover how easy it is for someone in these circumstances to start and run a commercial operation on the main street in full view. The individuals involved, we discovered, compensate Kurds who have UK citizenship to register the operations in their names, enabling to mislead the government agencies.

Saman and Ali also were able to discreetly document one of those at the centre of the organization, who stated that he could erase government fines of up to £60,000 imposed on those using illegal employees.

"I wanted to participate in revealing these illegal activities [...] to loudly proclaim that they don't characterize us," states one reporter, a ex- refugee applicant himself. Saman came to the United Kingdom without authorization, having fled Kurdistan - a territory that spans the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not officially recognized as a country - because his life was at danger.

The journalists admit that disagreements over unauthorized immigration are significant in the UK and explain they have both been concerned that the investigation could intensify hostilities.

But Ali states that the illegal employment "damages the entire Kurdish population" and he considers obligated to "bring it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Separately, Ali mentions he was anxious the coverage could be exploited by the far-right.

He says this particularly struck him when he discovered that far-right activist a prominent activist's national unity rally was taking place in London on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating covertly. Placards and banners could be seen at the gathering, showing "we demand our nation back".

Both journalists have both been monitoring social media feedback to the inquiry from inside the Kurdish-origin population and explain it has generated intense anger for some. One social media message they found said: "In what way can we find and find [the undercover reporters] to attack them like animals!"

A different demanded their families in Kurdistan to be slaughtered.

They have also seen allegations that they were spies for the British authorities, and traitors to other Kurds. "Both of us are not spies, and we have no desire of damaging the Kurdish-origin community," one reporter says. "Our aim is to expose those who have harmed its reputation. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish-origin heritage and extremely worried about the actions of such individuals."

The majority of those seeking asylum claim they are escaping political oppression, according to an expert from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a charity that assists refugees and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the situation for our undercover reporter one investigator, who, when he first arrived to the United Kingdom, faced difficulties for many years. He states he had to survive on less than £20 a week while his asylum claim was considered.

Refugee applicants now receive about £49 a per week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in housing which provides food, according to official guidance.

"Honestly speaking, this is not enough to maintain a acceptable life," says Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because asylum seekers are largely restricted from working, he feels many are susceptible to being exploited and are effectively "compelled to labor in the illegal market for as low as three pounds per hourly rate".

A spokesperson for the government department said: "The government are unapologetic for refusing to grant refugee applicants the right to be employed - granting this would generate an reason for individuals to come to the United Kingdom illegally."

Asylum applications can require years to be resolved with almost a third taking more than a year, according to official statistics from the end of March this year.

The reporter says being employed illegally in a car wash, barbershop or mini-mart would have been quite straightforward to do, but he informed the team he would not have engaged in that.

Nonetheless, he explains that those he encountered employed in illegal convenience stores during his work seemed "confused", particularly those whose refugee application has been denied and who were in the appeal stage.

"They used their entire funds to travel to the United Kingdom, they had their asylum denied and now they've sacrificed their entire investment."

The other reporter concurs that these individuals seemed desperate.

"If [they] state you're forbidden to work - but also [you]