The Reasons Our Team Chose to Go Covert to Reveal Criminal Activity in the Kurdish-origin Community

Two Kurdish men decided to go undercover to expose a operation behind unlawful High Street businesses because the wrongdoers are causing harm the image of Kurds in the United Kingdom, they state.

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

Investigators found that a Kurdish illegal enterprise was operating convenience stores, barbershops and car washes across the UK, and aimed to find out more about how it operated and who was taking part.

Prepared with covert recording devices, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no authorization to be employed, attempting to purchase and operate a mini-mart from which to trade unlawful cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were able to reveal how straightforward it is for an individual in these situations to establish and operate a commercial operation on the main street in full view. The individuals involved, we discovered, compensate Kurdish individuals who have British citizenship to legally establish the operations in their identities, helping to mislead the authorities.

Saman and Ali also managed to covertly record one of those at the heart of the network, who asserted that he could eliminate government fines of up to £60,000 imposed on those employing illegal laborers.

"I sought to participate in exposing these unlawful activities [...] to say that they don't speak for us," states Saman, a former asylum seeker himself. Saman came to the United Kingdom illegally, having fled Kurdistan - a territory that straddles the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not officially recognized as a state - because his safety was at danger.

The reporters recognize that conflicts over illegal migration are high in the United Kingdom and explain they have both been anxious that the inquiry could inflame conflicts.

But the other reporter explains that the unauthorized working "harms the whole Kurdish population" and he believes compelled to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Additionally, the journalist explains he was concerned the reporting could be used by the radical right.

He explains this notably struck him when he noticed that far-right activist Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom protest was occurring in London on one of the weekends he was working undercover. Banners and banners could be spotted at the protest, reading "we want our nation returned".

Both journalists have both been monitoring social media reaction to the investigation from within the Kurdish-origin community and explain it has caused significant frustration for certain individuals. One social media comment they found stated: "How can we locate and locate [the undercover reporters] to harm them like animals!"

Another demanded their relatives in Kurdistan to be attacked.

They have also read accusations that they were spies for the British authorities, and betrayers to other Kurdish people. "We are not informants, and we have no aim of damaging the Kurdish-origin population," Saman explains. "Our goal is to uncover those who have compromised its reputation. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish heritage and extremely troubled about the activities of such persons."

Most of those seeking asylum claim they are fleeing politically motivated discrimination, according to an expert from the a refugee support organization, a charity that supports asylum seekers and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the case for our covert reporter one investigator, who, when he first arrived to the UK, experienced challenges for years. He states he had to live on less than £20 a per week while his refugee application was considered.

Asylum seekers now get about £49 a week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in shelter which provides meals, according to official guidance.

"Practically stating, this isn't enough to sustain a dignified life," states Mr Avicil from the RWCA.

Because asylum seekers are mostly restricted from working, he believes a significant number are open to being manipulated and are practically "obligated to labor in the black economy for as low as three pounds per hourly rate".

A spokesperson for the Home Office said: "The government make no apology for refusing to grant refugee applicants the authorization to work - doing so would create an motivation for individuals to come to the UK illegally."

Refugee applications can take a long time to be decided with nearly a third taking over one year, according to official statistics from the late March this current year.

Saman states being employed without authorization in a car wash, hair salon or mini-mart would have been very easy to accomplish, but he told the team he would not have participated in that.

However, he explains that those he interviewed working in unauthorized mini-marts during his investigation seemed "disoriented", particularly those whose refugee application has been refused and who were in the appeals process.

"They expended all of their funds to come to the UK, they had their asylum rejected and now they've lost all they had."

The other reporter acknowledges that these individuals seemed in dire straits.

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