Why Our Team Chose to Go Undercover to Reveal Crime in the Kurdish-origin Community

A pair of Kurdish-background men consented to operate secretly to reveal a organization behind illegal High Street establishments because the lawbreakers are causing harm the reputation of Kurds in the Britain, they say.

The pair, who we are referring to as Ali and Saman, are Kurdish-origin reporters who have both resided legally in the United Kingdom for many years.

Investigators found that a Kurdish illegal enterprise was operating mini-marts, barbershops and vehicle cleaning services throughout the UK, and wanted to find out more about how it worked and who was involved.

Prepared with hidden cameras, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish asylum seekers with no authorization to be employed, looking to buy and operate a small shop from which to trade illegal cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

They were successful to uncover how straightforward it is for someone in these conditions to set up and operate a enterprise on the main street in full view. Those involved, we found, compensate Kurdish individuals who have UK citizenship to register the businesses in their identities, helping to fool the officials.

Saman and Ali also succeeded to secretly document one of those at the heart of the operation, who stated that he could eliminate government sanctions of up to £60,000 encountered those hiring illegal workers.

"I sought to participate in exposing these unlawful practices [...] to loudly proclaim that they don't represent our community," explains Saman, a former refugee applicant personally. Saman came to the United Kingdom without authorization, having fled Kurdistan - a area that straddles the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not internationally recognised as a nation - because his well-being was at threat.

The investigators recognize that conflicts over unauthorized immigration are significant in the United Kingdom and state they have both been anxious that the probe could intensify tensions.

But Ali states that the illegal employment "negatively affects the entire Kurdish-origin community" and he believes driven to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Additionally, the journalist mentions he was concerned the coverage could be exploited by the radical right.

He explains this particularly impressed him when he noticed that far-right activist a prominent activist's national unity march was happening in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating secretly. Banners and flags could be spotted at the rally, showing "we want our country returned".

The reporters have both been monitoring online response to the exposé from within the Kurdish-origin community and report it has sparked intense outrage for some. One Facebook comment they found said: "How can we locate and locate [the undercover reporters] to harm them like animals!"

One more urged their relatives in Kurdistan to be attacked.

They have also read allegations that they were agents for the UK authorities, and betrayers to fellow Kurdish people. "We are not informants, and we have no intention of harming the Kurdish community," Saman explains. "Our goal is to expose those who have harmed its image. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish heritage and extremely worried about the behavior of such individuals."

The majority of those applying for refugee status state they are escaping political discrimination, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a refugee support organization, a non-profit that assists refugees and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the case for our undercover reporter one investigator, who, when he initially arrived to the UK, experienced challenges for many years. He states he had to survive on less than £20 a week while his asylum claim was processed.

Refugee applicants now are provided about £49 a per week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in accommodation which offers food, according to Home Office regulations.

"Honestly saying, this is not adequate to maintain a dignified existence," explains the expert from the the organization.

Because refugee applicants are generally restricted from working, he feels a significant number are vulnerable to being taken advantage of and are practically "compelled to labor in the unofficial sector for as low as three pounds per hour".

A official for the government department commented: "We make no apology for denying asylum seekers the permission to be employed - doing so would create an incentive for individuals to travel to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Refugee cases can take multiple years to be processed with almost a third requiring over a year, according to official statistics from the spring this year.

The reporter states being employed illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, hair salon or convenience store would have been extremely straightforward to accomplish, but he explained to us he would not have engaged in that.

Nonetheless, he says that those he met employed in unauthorized mini-marts during his investigation seemed "lost", notably those whose asylum claim has been denied and who were in the appeal stage.

"They used all their funds to come to the United Kingdom, they had their refugee application denied and now they've lost their entire investment."

The other reporter concurs that these people seemed desperate.

"When [they] declare you're not allowed to be employed - but also [you]