The Reasons We Chose to Go Undercover to Reveal Crime in the Kurdish Population

A pair of Kurdish-background men agreed to go undercover to expose a organization behind unlawful main street establishments because the lawbreakers are negatively affecting the image of Kurdish people in the Britain, they say.

The two, who we are calling Saman and Ali, are Kurdish investigators who have both lived lawfully in the UK for a long time.

The team found that a Kurdish-linked criminal operation was managing mini-marts, barbershops and vehicle cleaning services across the UK, and wanted to discover more about how it operated and who was involved.

Armed with hidden cameras, Ali and Saman posed as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no permission to be employed, looking to purchase and manage a convenience store from which to trade contraband cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

They were able to reveal how simple it is for someone in these situations to start and operate a business on the commercial area in full view. Those participating, we discovered, pay Kurdish individuals who have British citizenship to register the businesses in their names, helping to fool the government agencies.

Ali and Saman also managed to covertly document one of those at the heart of the operation, who stated that he could erase government fines of up to £60,000 faced those using illegal workers.

"Personally aimed to participate in exposing these illegal activities [...] to say that they do not represent our community," explains one reporter, a ex- refugee applicant personally. Saman came to the United Kingdom without authorization, having fled the Kurdish region - a area that spans the boundaries of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not globally acknowledged as a country - because his well-being was at threat.

The reporters admit that disagreements over illegal migration are significant in the United Kingdom and state they have both been anxious that the inquiry could intensify hostilities.

But the other reporter says that the illegal working "harms the entire Kurdish-origin population" and he feels driven to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Separately, Ali explains he was concerned the publication could be used by the far-right.

He says this notably affected him when he discovered that radical right campaigner Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom march was taking place in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was working undercover. Banners and banners could be observed at the rally, showing "we want our country back".

The reporters have both been tracking social media feedback to the inquiry from within the Kurdish community and explain it has sparked intense outrage for certain individuals. One Facebook post they spotted read: "In what way can we locate and track [the undercover reporters] to kill them like animals!"

Another urged their relatives in Kurdistan to be attacked.

They have also encountered claims that they were informants for the British government, and betrayers to other Kurds. "We are not informants, and we have no aim of damaging the Kurdish community," Saman explains. "Our goal is to reveal those who have compromised its standing. We are proud of our Kurdish-origin identity and deeply worried about the activities of such individuals."

The majority of those applying for refugee status state they are escaping political persecution, according to an expert from the a charitable organization, a charity that assists asylum seekers and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the case for our undercover reporter one investigator, who, when he first arrived to the United Kingdom, faced difficulties for years. He explains he had to survive on less than twenty pounds a week while his asylum claim was processed.

Refugee applicants now receive about forty-nine pounds a week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in accommodation which offers food, according to government regulations.

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

Because asylum seekers are generally prevented from working, he believes numerous are vulnerable to being taken advantage of and are essentially "forced to work in the black sector for as little as three pounds per hourly rate".

A representative for the Home Office stated: "The government are unapologetic for denying refugee applicants the right to work - granting this would generate an motivation for individuals to travel to the UK illegally."

Refugee applications can take a long time to be decided with almost a 33% requiring over 12 months, according to official statistics from the late March this current year.

The reporter explains working without authorization in a car wash, hair salon or mini-mart would have been quite straightforward to achieve, but he told the team he would not have participated in that.

Nonetheless, he states that those he met employed in unauthorized convenience stores during his research seemed "confused", especially those whose asylum claim has been refused and who were in the legal challenge.

"These individuals expended all their money to migrate to the United Kingdom, they had their asylum rejected and now they've lost everything."

Ali acknowledges that these people seemed hopeless.

"When [they] declare you're prohibited to work - but additionally [you]