Why Our Team Went Undercover to Expose Criminal Activity in the Kurdish Population

Two Kurdish men agreed to work covertly to reveal a operation behind unlawful main street businesses because the lawbreakers are negatively affecting the image of Kurdish people in the Britain, they explain.

The pair, who we are referring to as Ali and Saman, are Kurdish journalists who have both lived legally in the UK for many years.

The team uncovered that a Kurdish-linked illegal enterprise was managing mini-marts, barbershops and car washes the length of Britain, and wanted to learn more about how it operated and who was participating.

Prepared with secret cameras, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no right to work, looking to purchase and operate a small shop from which to trade unlawful tobacco products and vapes.

They were able to reveal how simple it is for a person in these circumstances to start and run a enterprise on the High Street in public view. The individuals involved, we discovered, compensate Kurds who have British citizenship to legally establish the businesses in their identities, enabling to mislead the officials.

Ali and Saman also succeeded to secretly film one of those at the centre of the organization, who stated that he could erase official sanctions of up to £60k encountered those using unauthorized laborers.

"I aimed to participate in exposing these unlawful activities [...] to loudly proclaim that they don't speak for us," states Saman, a former refugee applicant personally. The reporter entered the country illegally, having fled Kurdistan - a region that spans the boundaries of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not globally acknowledged as a nation - because his life was at danger.

The reporters admit that disagreements over unauthorized migration are elevated in the UK and say they have both been worried that the inquiry could inflame conflicts.

But the other reporter states that the unauthorized employment "damages the entire Kurdish community" and he feels driven to "expose it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Furthermore, the journalist mentions he was anxious the reporting could be exploited by the far-right.

He states this especially affected him when he realized that radical right campaigner a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom march was occurring in London on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was working covertly. Placards and flags could be spotted at the rally, showing "we want our nation back".

Both journalists have both been monitoring online feedback to the exposé from within the Kurdish community and say it has generated intense frustration for certain individuals. One Facebook post they spotted read: "In what way can we identify and find [the undercover reporters] to attack them like dogs!"

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

They have also read accusations that they were spies for the UK authorities, and betrayers to other Kurdish people. "Both of us are not informants, and we have no aim of harming the Kurdish community," one reporter explains. "Our aim is to reveal those who have harmed its standing. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish identity and profoundly concerned about the activities of such people."

The majority of those applying for asylum state 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 scenario for our covert reporter one investigator, who, when he initially arrived to the United Kingdom, struggled for many years. He explains he had to live on less than £20 a week while his refugee application was reviewed.

Refugee applicants now are provided about £49 a per week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in accommodation which provides meals, according to official policies.

"Realistically stating, this isn't enough to maintain a acceptable existence," explains Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because refugee applicants are largely prevented from employment, he feels a significant number are vulnerable to being exploited and are essentially "compelled to work in the black economy for as low as three pounds per hour".

A spokesperson for the government department stated: "We are unapologetic for refusing to grant refugee applicants the permission to work - doing so would generate an incentive for individuals to travel to the United Kingdom illegally."

Refugee applications can take years to be decided with almost a 33% requiring more than 12 months, according to government figures from the late March this current year.

The reporter explains working without authorization in a car wash, barbershop or mini-mart would have been quite simple to do, but he told us he would never have participated in that.

Nevertheless, he states that those he encountered laboring in unauthorized convenience stores during his investigation seemed "lost", especially those whose refugee application has been refused and who were in the legal challenge.

"These individuals spent their entire money to come to the UK, they had their asylum denied and now they've forfeited everything."

The other reporter acknowledges that these people seemed hopeless.

"If [they] declare you're forbidden to be employed - but simultaneously [you]