The Reasons We Chose to Go Undercover to Reveal Criminal Activity in the Kurdish-origin Population

Two Kurdish-background individuals consented to work covertly to uncover a organization behind illegal commercial businesses because the wrongdoers are negatively affecting the standing of Kurds in the Britain, they state.

The pair, who we are referring to as Ali and Saman, are Kurdish-origin reporters who have both resided legally in the UK for years.

Investigators discovered that a Kurdish illegal enterprise was running mini-marts, hair salons and vehicle cleaning services the length of the UK, and wanted to discover more about how it functioned and who was involved.

Prepared with hidden cameras, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no authorization to work, looking to purchase and operate a convenience store from which to trade unlawful tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

They were able to uncover how straightforward it is for someone in these situations to establish and operate a enterprise on the main street in plain sight. Those involved, we learned, pay Kurdish individuals who have UK residency to register the enterprises in their identities, assisting to deceive the government agencies.

Ali and Saman also were able to covertly film one of those at the core of the organization, who claimed that he could remove government fines of up to £60,000 imposed on those employing illegal employees.

"I sought to contribute in uncovering these unlawful practices [...] to declare that they don't characterize Kurdish people," explains Saman, a former asylum seeker himself. Saman came to the United Kingdom illegally, having escaped from the Kurdish region - a region that straddles the borders of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not globally acknowledged as a nation - because his safety was at risk.

The reporters recognize that conflicts over illegal immigration are high in the UK and say they have both been worried that the inquiry could worsen conflicts.

But the other reporter states that the unauthorized working "negatively affects the whole Kurdish community" and he feels driven to "expose it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Additionally, Ali says he was anxious the publication could be used by the far-right.

He explains this notably struck him when he realized that extreme right activist a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom march was happening in London on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was working undercover. Signs and flags could be observed at the protest, displaying "we demand our nation back".

Saman and Ali have both been monitoring online reaction to the exposé from inside the Kurdish-origin community and say it has generated strong frustration for certain individuals. One social media comment they spotted read: "How can we locate and locate [the undercover reporters] to harm them like animals!"

One more urged their relatives in the Kurdish region to be slaughtered.

They have also encountered accusations that they were informants for the British government, and traitors to other Kurdish people. "Both of us are not spies, and we have no intention of harming the Kurdish-origin community," one reporter states. "Our goal is to uncover those who have damaged its reputation. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish-origin identity and extremely worried about the behavior of such persons."

The majority of those seeking refugee status say they are escaping political oppression, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a charitable organization, a charity that assists refugees and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the case for our covert reporter Saman, who, when he initially came to the UK, struggled for many years. He explains he had to live on under twenty pounds a week while his refugee application was considered.

Refugee applicants now receive about forty-nine pounds a per week - or £9.95 if they are in housing which provides meals, according to Home Office regulations.

"Honestly speaking, this isn't adequate to support a dignified life," says the expert from the the organization.

Because asylum seekers are largely prohibited from working, he believes a significant number are susceptible to being manipulated and are practically "forced to work in the black economy for as low as three pounds per hour".

A representative for the Home Office said: "We do not apologize for not granting refugee applicants the authorization to work - granting this would create an incentive for people to come to the UK without authorization."

Asylum applications can take a long time to be resolved with nearly a 33% requiring more than one year, according to official figures from the spring this year.

Saman states working illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, hair salon or mini-mart would have been extremely straightforward to accomplish, but he explained to the team he would never have participated in that.

Nevertheless, he explains that those he encountered employed in unauthorized mini-marts during his investigation seemed "lost", particularly those whose asylum claim has been refused and who were in the appeal stage.

"They expended all of their funds to travel to the United Kingdom, they had their asylum denied and now they've lost everything."

The other reporter acknowledges that these people seemed desperate.

"When [they] state you're prohibited to be employed - but additionally [you]