The Reasons We Went Covert to Uncover Crime in the Kurdish-origin Population

Two Kurdish men consented to go undercover to reveal a network behind illegal High Street businesses because the criminals are negatively affecting the standing of Kurds in the Britain, they state.

The two, who we are calling Saman and Ali, are Kurdish-origin investigators who have both resided legally in the United Kingdom for many years.

The team discovered that a Kurdish-linked criminal operation was running convenience stores, barbershops and car washes the length of the United Kingdom, and sought to discover more about how it operated and who was involved.

Prepared with hidden cameras, Ali and Saman presented themselves as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no authorization to be employed, attempting to acquire and run a small shop from which to sell contraband tobacco products and vapes.

They were successful to reveal how straightforward it is for someone in these circumstances to establish and manage a business on the main street in full view. Those involved, we found, compensate Kurdish individuals who have UK citizenship to legally establish the operations in their names, enabling to fool the government agencies.

Ali and Saman also managed to discreetly film one of those at the centre of the network, who stated that he could erase government fines of up to £60,000 faced those hiring unauthorized laborers.

"Personally aimed to participate in exposing these illegal operations [...] to declare that they do not represent us," says Saman, a ex- asylum seeker himself. The reporter entered the UK without authorization, having escaped from Kurdistan - a territory that spans the boundaries of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not officially recognized as a nation - because his safety was at danger.

The journalists recognize that tensions over illegal migration are significant in the United Kingdom and state they have both been concerned that the investigation could intensify tensions.

But Ali explains that the illegal working "negatively affects the whole Kurdish community" and he feels driven to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Additionally, the journalist explains he was worried the publication could be used by the radical right.

He states this especially affected him when he noticed that extreme right activist a prominent activist's national unity march was happening in London on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was working covertly. Banners and flags could be spotted at the protest, showing "we want our country back".

Both journalists have both been observing social media response to the inquiry from within the Kurdish-origin community and say it has sparked strong frustration for some. One Facebook comment they observed stated: "How can we locate and track [the undercover reporters] to kill them like animals!"

One more urged their relatives in Kurdistan to be slaughtered.

They have also read accusations that they were spies for the UK authorities, and traitors to other Kurds. "We are not informants, and we have no intention of harming the Kurdish-origin population," one reporter explains. "Our objective is to uncover those who have damaged its reputation. We are honored of our Kurdish-origin identity and profoundly troubled about the behavior of such individuals."

The majority of those applying for refugee status state they are escaping politically motivated discrimination, according to an expert from the a charitable organization, a non-profit that supports asylum seekers and refugee applicants in the United Kingdom.

This was the situation for our undercover journalist one investigator, who, when he first arrived to the UK, faced difficulties for many years. He says he had to survive on less than £20 a per week while his asylum claim was processed.

Asylum seekers now get approximately £49 a week - or £9.95 if they are in shelter which offers food, according to official guidance.

"Practically speaking, this isn't adequate to maintain a respectable lifestyle," says Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because asylum seekers are largely prevented from working, he believes a significant number are susceptible to being exploited and are practically "compelled to work in the unofficial market for as low as three pounds per hour".

A spokesperson for the authorities commented: "We do not apologize for denying refugee applicants the permission to work - granting this would establish an motivation for individuals to come to the United Kingdom illegally."

Asylum cases can take years to be processed with nearly a 33% taking more than 12 months, according to government figures from the spring this year.

Saman says being employed illegally in a car wash, barbershop or convenience store would have been extremely simple to achieve, but he explained to the team he would not have participated in that.

Nonetheless, he says that those he encountered laboring in illegal mini-marts during his research seemed "disoriented", especially those whose refugee application has been denied and who were in the legal challenge.

"They spent all their funds to migrate to the United Kingdom, they had their asylum rejected and now they've forfeited all they had."

Ali concurs that these individuals seemed desperate.

"When [they] state you're forbidden to work - but additionally [you]