The Reasons Our Team Went Covert to Expose Criminal Activity in the Kurdish Population

Two Kurdish-background men decided to operate secretly to uncover a operation behind illegal High Street enterprises because the criminals are causing harm the standing of Kurdish people in the UK, they say.

The two, who we are referring to as Ali and Saman, are Kurdish-origin journalists who have both resided legally in the United Kingdom for years.

The team found that a Kurdish illegal enterprise was managing small shops, hair salons and vehicle cleaning services across Britain, and aimed to learn more about how it functioned and who was participating.

Equipped with hidden recording devices, Ali and Saman presented themselves as Kurdish asylum seekers with no authorization to be employed, seeking to acquire and run a small shop from which to distribute unlawful cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were able to reveal how simple it is for a person in these situations to set up and run a enterprise on the commercial area in public view. The individuals participating, we learned, compensate Kurds who have UK residency to legally establish the businesses in their identities, enabling to fool the officials.

Saman and Ali also were able to secretly record one of those at the core of the network, who asserted that he could eliminate government fines of up to £60,000 imposed on those using illegal workers.

"I aimed to play a role in exposing these unlawful operations [...] to declare that they do not represent us," states one reporter, a former refugee applicant personally. The reporter came to the United Kingdom without authorization, having fled Kurdistan - a territory that covers the boundaries 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 migration are elevated in the United Kingdom and explain they have both been worried that the investigation could inflame hostilities.

But the other reporter states that the illegal working "damages the entire Kurdish-origin population" and he considers compelled to "expose it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Additionally, the journalist says he was anxious the coverage could be exploited by the extreme right.

He explains this especially impressed him when he realized that extreme right activist a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom rally was taking place in London on one of the weekends he was working secretly. Signs and banners could be seen at the protest, reading "we want our country back".

Both journalists have both been monitoring social media reaction to the investigation from within the Kurdish population and report it has generated intense anger for certain individuals. One Facebook post they spotted read: "How can we identify and locate [the undercover reporters] to attack them like animals!"

Another called for their families in Kurdistan to be harmed.

They have also encountered allegations that they were agents for the British government, and traitors to fellow Kurdish people. "We are not spies, and we have no desire of harming the Kurdish-origin population," one reporter explains. "Our goal is to uncover those who have damaged its standing. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish identity and deeply troubled about the activities of such people."

Most of those seeking asylum state they are escaping politically motivated discrimination, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a organization that assists refugees and asylum seekers in the United Kingdom.

This was the scenario for our undercover journalist Saman, who, when he initially came to the UK, faced difficulties for years. He states he had to survive on less than £20 a week while his refugee application was processed.

Refugee applicants now are provided approximately forty-nine pounds a week - or £9.95 if they are in housing which offers meals, according to government policies.

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

Because refugee applicants are mostly restricted from employment, he feels a significant number are susceptible to being exploited and are practically "obligated to labor in the black sector for as little as £3 per hour".

A official for the authorities said: "We do not apologize for refusing to grant asylum seekers the authorization to work - granting this would create an reason for people to migrate to the UK without authorization."

Refugee cases can take years to be decided with nearly a 33% requiring over a year, according to government figures from the end of March this current year.

Saman says being employed illegally in a car wash, hair salon or mini-mart would have been very straightforward to do, but he told us he would never have participated in that.

However, he says that those he met working in unauthorized convenience stores during his research seemed "confused", particularly those whose refugee application has been refused and who were in the legal challenge.

"These individuals spent all their savings to travel to the United Kingdom, they had their asylum rejected and now they've forfeited all they had."

Ali agrees that these individuals seemed hopeless.

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