The Reasons Our Team Went Covert to Uncover Criminal Activity in the Kurdish-origin Population

Two Kurdish-background individuals decided to go undercover to reveal a organization behind unlawful High Street establishments because the wrongdoers are causing harm the reputation of Kurds in the Britain, they say.

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

The team uncovered that a Kurdish criminal operation was managing small shops, hair salons and vehicle cleaning services the length of Britain, and sought to find out more about how it worked and who was taking part.

Armed with covert cameras, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish refugee applicants with no authorization to be employed, attempting to buy and run a mini-mart from which to sell illegal cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were able to discover how simple it is for an individual in these circumstances to set up and manage a commercial operation on the High Street in public view. Those involved, we learned, compensate Kurdish individuals who have UK citizenship to register the enterprises in their names, assisting to fool the government agencies.

Ali and Saman also were able to covertly record one of those at the core of the organization, who stated that he could erase official penalties of up to sixty thousand pounds imposed on those using illegal employees.

"Personally aimed to contribute in exposing these unlawful practices [...] to loudly proclaim that they don't speak for us," states Saman, a ex- refugee applicant personally. The reporter entered the UK without authorization, having fled Kurdistan - a region that straddles the boundaries of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not internationally recognised as a country - because his well-being was at threat.

The reporters admit that tensions over unauthorized migration are elevated in the United Kingdom and state they have both been anxious that the probe could intensify tensions.

But Ali says that the illegal employment "damages the whole Kurdish community" and he feels obligated to "bring it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Furthermore, the journalist explains he was concerned the coverage could be exploited by the radical right.

He says this especially impressed him when he discovered that extreme right activist Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom march was occurring in London on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating covertly. Signs and banners could be observed at the protest, reading "we demand our country returned".

Both journalists have both been monitoring online feedback to the inquiry from inside the Kurdish community and say it has caused strong outrage for some. One social media comment they observed said: "In what way can we identify and track [the undercover reporters] to attack them like animals!"

Another called for their families in the Kurdish region to be slaughtered.

They have also encountered allegations that they were spies for the British authorities, and betrayers to other Kurdish people. "We are not spies, and we have no intention of hurting the Kurdish population," one reporter says. "Our goal is to reveal those who have damaged its standing. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish-origin heritage and extremely troubled about the activities of such individuals."

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

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

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

"Practically stating, this is not adequate to maintain a respectable existence," states Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because asylum seekers are largely prohibited from employment, he feels a significant number are vulnerable to being taken advantage of and are practically "obligated to work in the black sector for as little as £3 per hourly rate".

A spokesperson for the government department commented: "The government do not apologize for not granting refugee applicants the right to work - granting this would create an reason for people to migrate to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Refugee applications can take multiple years to be resolved with approximately a 33% requiring over 12 months, according to official figures from the end of March this year.

Saman states working without authorization in a car wash, barbershop or convenience store would have been extremely easy to achieve, but he told the team he would never have engaged in that.

Nonetheless, he says that those he interviewed laboring in unauthorized mini-marts during his investigation seemed "lost", notably those whose refugee application has been rejected and who were in the appeal stage.

"These individuals used all their funds to come to the UK, they had their refugee application denied and now they've lost their entire investment."

Ali agrees that these people seemed desperate.

"When [they] state you're not allowed to work - but simultaneously [you]