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

Two Kurdish men agreed to go undercover to expose a organization behind illegal main street enterprises because the lawbreakers are damaging the reputation of Kurds in the United Kingdom, they say.

The two, who we are referring to as Saman and Ali, are Kurdish investigators who have both lived legally in the United Kingdom for many years.

Investigators found that a Kurdish criminal operation was managing convenience stores, hair salons and car washes the length of Britain, and wanted to learn more about how it functioned and who was participating.

Armed with secret cameras, Ali and Saman posed as Kurdish asylum seekers with no authorization to work, seeking to acquire and manage a small shop from which to trade contraband tobacco products and vapes.

The investigators were successful to uncover how simple it is for an individual in these conditions to set up and operate a commercial operation on the commercial area in plain sight. Those involved, we found, pay Kurds who have British citizenship to legally establish the enterprises in their identities, assisting to mislead the authorities.

Saman and Ali also were able to covertly record one of those at the heart of the network, who asserted that he could eliminate government sanctions of up to £60,000 imposed on those employing unauthorized employees.

"Personally sought to play a role in revealing these illegal activities [...] to loudly proclaim that they don't represent us," explains Saman, a former refugee applicant himself. Saman entered the United Kingdom without authorization, having fled the Kurdish region - a region that spans the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not globally acknowledged as a country - because his safety was at danger.

The journalists admit that tensions over unauthorized immigration are elevated in the United Kingdom and state they have both been worried that the probe could worsen tensions.

But Ali states that the unauthorized working "damages the whole Kurdish-origin community" and he considers driven to "expose it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Furthermore, the journalist mentions he was anxious the publication could be used by the extreme right.

He says this notably impressed him when he noticed that far-right activist a prominent activist's national unity march was happening in London on one of the weekends he was working undercover. Placards and flags could be spotted at the gathering, displaying "we demand our country back".

Both journalists have both been tracking social media feedback to the exposé from inside the Kurdish-origin population and report it has sparked strong anger for some. One Facebook post they observed stated: "How can we locate and find [the undercover reporters] to attack them like dogs!"

One more called for their relatives in Kurdistan to be harmed.

They have also read allegations that they were informants for the UK government, and traitors to fellow Kurdish people. "Both of us are not spies, and we have no desire of hurting the Kurdish-origin population," one reporter states. "Our objective is to uncover those who have compromised its image. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish heritage and extremely worried about the actions of such persons."

The majority of those applying for refugee status say they are fleeing political persecution, according to an expert from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a charity that supports refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the situation for our covert journalist Saman, who, when he first came to the United Kingdom, faced difficulties for many years. He states he had to live on under twenty pounds a week while his asylum claim was considered.

Refugee applicants now receive about £49 a per week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in housing which offers meals, according to official regulations.

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

Because asylum seekers are largely prohibited from employment, he feels a significant number are vulnerable to being exploited and are essentially "compelled to labor in the black market for as low as three pounds per hour".

A representative for the government department said: "We do not apologize for refusing to grant refugee applicants the authorization to work - doing so would establish an reason for people to travel to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Asylum applications can require years to be decided with almost a third taking over a year, according to official figures from the late March this current year.

The reporter explains being employed without authorization in a vehicle cleaning service, hair salon or mini-mart would have been extremely straightforward to achieve, but he told the team he would not have engaged in that.

Nevertheless, he says that those he encountered employed in unauthorized mini-marts during his work seemed "lost", particularly those whose refugee application has been refused and who were in the appeals process.

"These individuals spent all their funds to migrate to the United Kingdom, they had their refugee application rejected and now they've lost everything."

Ali acknowledges that these individuals seemed desperate.

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