Why We Chose to Go Covert to Expose Criminal Activity in the Kurdish Population

Two Kurdish men consented to operate secretly to reveal a organization behind illegal commercial enterprises because the lawbreakers are negatively affecting the standing of Kurds in the Britain, they say.

The pair, who we are referring to as Ali and Saman, are Kurdish investigators who have both lived lawfully in the UK for a long time.

The team discovered that a Kurdish-linked illegal enterprise was operating mini-marts, hair salons and car washes across Britain, and aimed to learn more about how it operated and who was involved.

Equipped with hidden recording devices, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no right to be employed, attempting to acquire and operate a mini-mart from which to distribute illegal tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were successful to discover how straightforward it is for a person in these conditions to set up and run a commercial operation on the main street in full view. The individuals participating, we learned, pay Kurdish individuals who have UK citizenship to legally establish the enterprises in their names, assisting to mislead the officials.

Saman and Ali also succeeded to covertly film one of those at the heart of the organization, who asserted that he could remove official sanctions of up to £60,000 imposed on those employing unauthorized workers.

"I sought to participate in exposing these illegal activities [...] to loudly proclaim that they do not characterize Kurdish people," says one reporter, a ex- asylum seeker personally. The reporter entered the United Kingdom without authorization, having fled the Kurdish region - a area that covers the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not globally acknowledged as a state - because his safety was at threat.

The journalists admit that disagreements over unauthorized migration are significant in the United Kingdom and say they have both been concerned that the investigation could worsen conflicts.

But the other reporter says that the unauthorized working "damages the entire Kurdish-origin population" and he feels obligated to "expose it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Additionally, the journalist says he was worried the reporting could be seized upon by the extreme right.

He states this particularly affected him when he realized that radical right activist Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom protest was occurring in London on one of the weekends he was operating undercover. Banners and flags could be spotted at the gathering, reading "we want our country returned".

Both journalists have both been observing social media feedback to the investigation from within the Kurdish-origin community and say it has caused strong outrage for some. One social media post they observed read: "How can we identify and find [the undercover reporters] to kill them like animals!"

Another called for their relatives in Kurdistan to be slaughtered.

They have also read accusations that they were informants for the British government, and betrayers to other Kurdish people. "We are not spies, and we have no intention of damaging the Kurdish-origin population," Saman explains. "Our goal is to expose those who have compromised its image. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish-origin identity and profoundly worried about the behavior of such people."

The majority of those seeking asylum claim they are escaping political persecution, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a charitable organization, a non-profit that assists asylum seekers and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the case for our undercover reporter one investigator, who, when he initially arrived to the UK, faced difficulties for many years. He says he had to survive on under £20 a week while his asylum claim was reviewed.

Asylum seekers now receive approximately forty-nine pounds a week - or £9.95 if they are in accommodation which provides meals, according to official regulations.

"Practically stating, this isn't adequate to support a acceptable existence," explains the expert from the RWCA.

Because asylum seekers are mostly prohibited from working, he believes numerous are susceptible to being manipulated and are essentially "compelled to work in the illegal sector for as little as three pounds per hour".

A spokesperson for the Home Office stated: "The government do not apologize for denying asylum seekers the permission to be employed - granting this would generate an incentive for people to come to the UK illegally."

Asylum cases can take multiple years to be processed with nearly a third taking over a year, according to official data from the spring this year.

Saman says being employed without authorization in a car wash, barbershop or convenience store would have been quite straightforward to achieve, but he told the team he would not have done that.

Nonetheless, he states that those he met employed in unauthorized convenience stores during his work seemed "lost", notably those whose asylum claim has been denied and who were in the appeal stage.

"They expended all their funds to migrate to the UK, they had their asylum refused and now they've lost their entire investment."

Ali agrees that these individuals seemed in dire straits.

"If [they] say you're prohibited to be employed - but additionally [you]