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

A pair of Kurdish-background individuals consented to operate secretly to reveal a network behind unlawful commercial enterprises because the criminals are damaging the standing of Kurds in the United Kingdom, they say.

The two, who we are calling Ali and Saman, are Kurdish reporters who have both resided lawfully in the UK for many years.

Investigators uncovered that a Kurdish criminal operation was managing mini-marts, barbershops and car washes the length of Britain, and sought to find out more about how it functioned and who was taking part.

Armed with covert recording devices, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish refugee applicants with no authorization to work, looking to acquire and operate a mini-mart from which to trade unlawful tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were successful to uncover how simple it is for an individual in these circumstances to establish and operate a commercial operation on the High Street in full view. Those participating, we learned, compensate Kurdish individuals who have UK citizenship to register the businesses in their names, helping to fool the officials.

Ali and Saman also succeeded to covertly record one of those at the centre of the network, who claimed that he could eliminate official penalties of up to £60,000 imposed on those employing illegal workers.

"I wanted to play a role in revealing these unlawful activities [...] to loudly proclaim that they don't characterize us," states one reporter, a former refugee applicant personally. Saman entered the United Kingdom illegally, having escaped from Kurdistan - a area that covers the boundaries of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not globally acknowledged as a nation - because his safety was at danger.

The journalists acknowledge that conflicts over illegal migration are elevated in the UK and explain they have both been worried that the probe could intensify tensions.

But Ali says that the illegal labor "negatively affects the entire Kurdish-origin community" and he considers driven to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Additionally, the journalist mentions he was anxious the reporting could be seized upon by the extreme right.

He says this particularly impressed him when he realized that far-right activist Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom march was happening in the capital on one of the weekends he was operating covertly. Banners and banners could be spotted at the gathering, displaying "we want our country returned".

Both journalists have both been tracking online reaction to the exposé from inside the Kurdish-origin population and report it has caused strong outrage for some. One social media comment they spotted said: "How can we locate and track [the undercover reporters] to harm them like animals!"

One more urged their families in Kurdistan to be slaughtered.

They have also read allegations that they were spies for the UK authorities, and betrayers to other Kurdish people. "Both of us are not informants, and we have no intention of harming the Kurdish-origin community," Saman states. "Our objective is to reveal those who have damaged its reputation. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish-origin identity and profoundly worried about the activities of such people."

The majority of those applying for asylum state they are escaping politically motivated persecution, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a charity that helps refugees and asylum seekers in the United Kingdom.

This was the case for our undercover reporter one investigator, who, when he first arrived to the UK, faced difficulties for years. He explains he had to survive on less than £20 a per week while his asylum claim was processed.

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

"Practically saying, this isn't sufficient to support a acceptable lifestyle," states Mr Avicil from the RWCA.

Because asylum seekers are largely prohibited from employment, he feels a significant number are open to being exploited and are essentially "forced to work in the unofficial market for as little as £3 per hourly rate".

A representative for the authorities stated: "The government do not apologize for refusing to grant refugee applicants the authorization to work - granting this would generate an reason for individuals to come to the UK without authorization."

Refugee cases can take years to be decided with almost a third requiring more than 12 months, according to official statistics from the end of March this current year.

The reporter says being employed illegally in a car wash, hair salon or convenience store would have been quite simple to achieve, but he informed the team he would never have done that.

However, he states that those he encountered laboring in illegal mini-marts during his research seemed "lost", especially those whose refugee application has been rejected and who were in the appeal stage.

"They used their entire funds to travel to the UK, they had their refugee application refused and now they've forfeited everything."

The other reporter agrees that these individuals seemed desperate.

"If [they] state you're not allowed to work - but additionally [you]