The Reasons Our Team Went Covert to Expose Crime in the Kurdish Population

A pair of Kurdish men agreed to go undercover to reveal a organization behind illegal commercial enterprises because the lawbreakers are causing harm the image of Kurdish people in the UK, they state.

The two, who we are calling Saman and Ali, are Kurdish-origin reporters who have both lived lawfully in the UK for many years.

Investigators uncovered that a Kurdish illegal enterprise was operating small shops, barbershops and car washes across the United Kingdom, and aimed to find out more about how it worked and who was involved.

Armed with covert recording devices, Ali and Saman presented themselves as Kurdish asylum seekers with no right to work, attempting to purchase and manage a small shop from which to sell unlawful tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

They were able to discover how straightforward it is for someone in these conditions to establish and operate a enterprise on the commercial area in public view. The individuals involved, we learned, compensate Kurds who have UK residency to register the operations in their names, helping to fool the government agencies.

Saman and Ali also were able to secretly film one of those at the heart of the operation, who asserted that he could eliminate official sanctions of up to £60,000 imposed on those using unauthorized workers.

"I wanted to contribute in exposing these illegal operations [...] to declare that they don't characterize us," explains one reporter, a former refugee applicant himself. The reporter entered the country illegally, having escaped from the Kurdish region - a region that straddles the boundaries of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not internationally recognised as a state - because his safety was at threat.

The investigators admit that tensions over unauthorized immigration are significant in the United Kingdom and say they have both been concerned that the probe could intensify tensions.

But the other reporter states that the unauthorized working "harms the whole Kurdish-origin community" and he believes obligated to "expose it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Separately, Ali explains he was worried the publication could be seized upon by the radical right.

He says this notably affected him when he discovered that radical right campaigner Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom protest was taking place in the capital on one of the weekends he was working covertly. Signs and flags could be observed at the rally, reading "we demand our nation returned".

Saman and Ali have both been tracking social media reaction to the investigation from inside the Kurdish community and say it has sparked strong frustration for certain individuals. One Facebook message they spotted stated: "In what way can we find and find [the undercover reporters] to harm them like animals!"

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

They have also seen claims that they were informants for the UK government, and traitors to other Kurds. "Both of us are not spies, and we have no desire of damaging the Kurdish population," Saman explains. "Our objective is to uncover those who have compromised its reputation. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish identity and deeply concerned about the behavior of such persons."

The majority of those applying for asylum state they are escaping politically motivated oppression, according to an expert from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a organization that assists asylum seekers and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the situation for our covert journalist Saman, who, when he first came to the UK, experienced challenges for years. He explains he had to survive on under £20 a week while his asylum claim was considered.

Refugee applicants now get approximately £49 a week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in housing which includes meals, according to Home Office guidance.

"Practically speaking, this isn't adequate to maintain a respectable life," states the expert from the the organization.

Because refugee applicants are generally prevented from employment, he feels many are vulnerable to being manipulated and are practically "forced to work in the illegal economy for as little as £3 per hourly rate".

A spokesperson for the authorities commented: "The government are unapologetic for refusing to grant refugee applicants the authorization to be employed - doing so would establish an reason for individuals to come to the United Kingdom illegally."

Refugee applications can require years to be processed with almost a 33% taking more than one year, according to official statistics from the late March this current year.

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

Nonetheless, he says that those he encountered working in illegal convenience stores during his work seemed "disoriented", notably those whose asylum claim has been denied and who were in the legal challenge.

"These individuals used their entire savings to come to the United Kingdom, they had their asylum rejected and now they've forfeited their entire investment."

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

"If [they] say you're prohibited to work - but additionally [you]