Why Our Team Went Undercover to Uncover Crime in the Kurdish-origin Community

Two Kurdish-background individuals consented to operate secretly to reveal a network behind illegal commercial businesses because the wrongdoers are negatively affecting the image of Kurds in the Britain, they state.

The pair, who we are referring to as Saman and Ali, are Kurdish reporters who have both lived lawfully in the United Kingdom for years.

Investigators found that a Kurdish illegal enterprise was managing mini-marts, hair salons and vehicle cleaning services across the United Kingdom, and sought to find out more about how it worked and who was involved.

Equipped with hidden cameras, Ali and Saman presented themselves as Kurdish refugee applicants with no authorization to be employed, attempting to purchase and operate a mini-mart from which to trade contraband tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were able to discover how simple it is for someone in these situations to establish and operate a enterprise on the main street in public view. Those participating, we found, pay Kurds who have British citizenship to register the operations in their identities, assisting to deceive the officials.

Ali and Saman also succeeded to covertly film one of those at the core of the network, who stated that he could eliminate official fines of up to £60k imposed on those using illegal workers.

"Personally wanted to participate in exposing these unlawful activities [...] to loudly proclaim that they do not characterize our community," states Saman, a ex- refugee applicant personally. The reporter entered the United Kingdom illegally, having fled the Kurdish region - a area that covers the boundaries of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not globally acknowledged as a nation - because his well-being was at threat.

The journalists admit that conflicts over illegal migration are high in the UK and say they have both been worried that the probe could inflame hostilities.

But Ali says that the unauthorized employment "negatively affects the entire Kurdish-origin community" and he believes obligated to "bring it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

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

He says this notably affected him when he realized that far-right campaigner a prominent activist's national unity protest was occurring in London on one of the weekends he was operating covertly. Placards and flags could be spotted at the rally, showing "we demand our country returned".

The reporters have both been observing online reaction to the inquiry from inside the Kurdish community and report it has sparked intense frustration for certain individuals. One social media message they found stated: "In what way can we locate and locate [the undercover reporters] to kill them like dogs!"

Another demanded their families in the Kurdish region to be attacked.

They have also encountered accusations that they were agents for the UK government, and betrayers to fellow Kurdish people. "We are not informants, and we have no aim of hurting the Kurdish population," one reporter explains. "Our aim is to expose those who have harmed its image. We are honored of our Kurdish identity and extremely troubled about the behavior of such people."

The majority of those applying for asylum claim they are fleeing politically motivated oppression, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a charitable organization, a charity that supports asylum seekers and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the scenario for our undercover reporter one investigator, who, when he initially came to the United Kingdom, faced difficulties for years. He explains he had to live on less than twenty pounds a week while his asylum claim was reviewed.

Asylum seekers now are provided approximately £49 a week - or £9.95 if they are in accommodation which provides meals, according to government guidance.

"Practically stating, this is not sufficient to maintain a dignified lifestyle," says the expert from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are generally restricted from employment, he thinks a significant number are vulnerable to being exploited and are effectively "obligated to labor in the unofficial economy for as low as three pounds per hourly rate".

A spokesperson for the government department said: "We make no apology for refusing to grant refugee applicants the permission to work - granting this would establish an incentive for people to migrate to the UK without authorization."

Refugee applications can require a long time to be decided with almost a one-third taking more than a year, according to official data from the end of March this current year.

Saman says working illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or mini-mart would have been extremely simple to accomplish, but he explained to us he would not have participated in that.

However, he says that those he met laboring in illegal mini-marts during his work seemed "lost", particularly those whose refugee application has been rejected and who were in the appeals process.

"These individuals used all their savings to migrate to the UK, they had their asylum denied and now they've sacrificed their entire investment."

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

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