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

Two Kurdish-background men decided to go undercover to reveal a organization behind illegal commercial establishments because the wrongdoers are causing harm the standing of Kurdish people in the UK, they explain.

The two, who we are referring to as Ali and Saman, are Kurdish reporters who have both lived lawfully in the UK for a long time.

The team discovered that a Kurdish-linked illegal enterprise was running convenience stores, barbershops and car washes throughout the UK, and wanted to learn more about how it functioned and who was involved.

Armed with secret recording devices, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish refugee applicants with no authorization to work, attempting to buy and run a mini-mart from which to sell illegal cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

They were successful to uncover how simple it is for someone in these conditions to set up and operate a commercial operation on the main street in plain sight. Those participating, we learned, compensate Kurds who have UK citizenship to register the enterprises in their names, assisting to mislead the authorities.

Saman and Ali also managed to covertly record one of those at the centre of the network, who stated that he could erase official fines of up to £60k encountered those hiring unauthorized laborers.

"Personally wanted to contribute in revealing these unlawful practices [...] to say that they don't characterize Kurdish people," states Saman, a former asylum seeker personally. Saman came to the United Kingdom illegally, having escaped from Kurdistan - a territory that straddles the borders of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not globally acknowledged as a nation - because his well-being was at danger.

The investigators admit that tensions over unauthorized migration are significant in the UK and state they have both been anxious that the investigation could intensify conflicts.

But the other reporter says that the unauthorized labor "damages the entire Kurdish community" and he feels compelled to "bring it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Furthermore, the journalist explains he was worried the reporting could be seized upon by the radical right.

He states this notably impressed him when he realized that radical right campaigner a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom rally was taking place in the capital on one of the weekends he was working undercover. Placards and banners could be spotted at the rally, reading "we demand our country returned".

Saman and Ali have both been observing social media response to the investigation from inside the Kurdish population and say it has sparked strong frustration for certain individuals. One social media comment they found stated: "How can we identify and locate [the undercover reporters] to kill them like dogs!"

Another urged their relatives in the Kurdish region to be harmed.

They have also seen claims that they were informants for the British government, and betrayers to other Kurds. "We are not informants, and we have no desire of hurting the Kurdish-origin population," Saman states. "Our aim is to reveal those who have harmed its standing. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish-origin identity and extremely troubled about the activities of such people."

Most of those seeking asylum state they are escaping political discrimination, according to an expert from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a organization that helps refugees and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the situation for our covert journalist Saman, who, when he initially arrived to the United Kingdom, struggled for many years. He says he had to live on less than twenty pounds a per week while his asylum claim was processed.

Asylum seekers now get about forty-nine pounds a per week - or £9.95 if they are in shelter which offers meals, according to Home Office guidance.

"Practically saying, this is not sufficient to maintain a respectable existence," says Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because asylum seekers are largely restricted from working, he believes a significant number are vulnerable to being exploited and are practically "forced to labor in the black economy for as little as £3 per hourly rate".

A spokesperson for the government department said: "The government are unapologetic for refusing to grant asylum seekers the authorization to be employed - doing so would create an reason for individuals to travel to the UK illegally."

Refugee applications can take years to be processed with almost a one-third requiring more than 12 months, according to official figures from the end of March this current year.

Saman says working without authorization in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or mini-mart would have been very straightforward to accomplish, but he explained to us he would never have participated in that.

However, he states that those he encountered laboring in illegal mini-marts during his research seemed "lost", notably those whose asylum claim has been refused and who were in the legal challenge.

"These individuals expended all of their savings to travel to the UK, they had their asylum refused and now they've forfeited everything."

Ali acknowledges that these individuals seemed in dire straits.

"If [they] say you're prohibited to be employed - but simultaneously [you]