The Reasons Our Team Chose to Go Covert to Reveal Criminal Activity in the Kurdish Community

A pair of Kurdish-background individuals decided to work covertly to expose a organization behind unlawful High Street businesses because the criminals are causing harm the standing of Kurdish people in the Britain, they explain.

The two, who we are referring to as Saman and Ali, are Kurdish investigators who have both resided legally in the UK for a long time.

The team uncovered that a Kurdish-linked criminal operation was operating mini-marts, barbershops and car washes throughout Britain, and sought to learn more about how it operated and who was taking part.

Equipped with covert cameras, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no authorization to be employed, attempting to buy and manage a convenience store from which to sell contraband cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were successful to discover how simple it is for an individual in these conditions to start and run a enterprise on the commercial area in public view. Those participating, we found, compensate Kurdish individuals who have UK residency to register the enterprises in their names, helping to mislead the officials.

Ali and Saman also succeeded to secretly record one of those at the core of the operation, who claimed that he could remove official penalties of up to sixty thousand pounds faced those hiring illegal employees.

"Personally wanted to contribute in revealing these illegal activities [...] to say that they don't represent Kurdish people," states one reporter, a ex- refugee applicant personally. The reporter came to the UK without authorization, having fled the Kurdish region - a area that straddles the boundaries of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not globally acknowledged as a country - because his well-being was at risk.

The journalists recognize that disagreements over illegal migration are elevated in the UK and say they have both been anxious that the investigation could inflame hostilities.

But Ali explains that the unauthorized labor "negatively affects the entire Kurdish population" and he believes driven to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Furthermore, the journalist says he was concerned the publication could be exploited by the radical right.

He says this notably impressed him when he realized that extreme right campaigner Tommy Robinson's national unity rally was happening in the capital on one of the weekends he was operating undercover. Banners and flags could be spotted at the rally, displaying "we demand our country back".

The reporters have both been monitoring online feedback to the exposé from inside the Kurdish-origin population and report it has caused strong outrage for certain individuals. One Facebook message they observed stated: "How can we find and track [the undercover reporters] to kill them like animals!"

A different called for their relatives in the Kurdish region to be slaughtered.

They have also encountered accusations that they were agents for the UK authorities, and betrayers to fellow Kurds. "We are not informants, and we have no desire of harming the Kurdish-origin community," Saman says. "Our goal is to reveal those who have harmed its reputation. We are honored of our Kurdish-origin identity and deeply troubled about the behavior of such persons."

Most of those seeking refugee status state they are fleeing politically motivated persecution, according to an expert from the a charitable organization, a organization that helps refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the scenario for our covert reporter one investigator, who, when he initially arrived to the United Kingdom, struggled for years. He explains he had to live on less than twenty pounds a week while his asylum claim was considered.

Asylum seekers now are provided about £49 a week - or £9.95 if they are in housing which offers meals, according to official guidance.

"Practically speaking, this is not enough to sustain a dignified lifestyle," explains Mr Avicil from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are mostly restricted from working, he believes a significant number are susceptible to being taken advantage of and are practically "obligated to work in the unofficial economy for as little as £3 per hourly rate".

A representative for the government department commented: "We are unapologetic for denying refugee applicants the authorization to work - granting this would create an reason for individuals to travel to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Refugee applications can require multiple years to be decided with nearly a 33% requiring over 12 months, according to official statistics from the end of March this year.

The reporter explains working without authorization in a car wash, hair salon or mini-mart would have been very easy to do, but he explained to us he would not have participated in that.

Nevertheless, he explains that those he encountered employed in illegal mini-marts during his research seemed "lost", especially those whose refugee application has been rejected and who were in the appeals process.

"They used all of their savings to travel to the United Kingdom, they had their refugee application rejected and now they've forfeited everything."

The other reporter acknowledges that these people seemed in dire straits.

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