The Reasons Our Team Went Covert to Reveal Crime in the Kurdish-origin Community

Two Kurdish-background men agreed to operate secretly to expose a operation behind illegal High Street businesses because the criminals are damaging the standing of Kurdish people in the United Kingdom, they say.

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

Investigators found that a Kurdish criminal operation was running small shops, barbershops and car washes throughout the United Kingdom, and aimed to discover more about how it worked and who was participating.

Armed with hidden recording devices, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no permission to be employed, looking to purchase and run a mini-mart from which to sell contraband tobacco products and vapes.

They were able to uncover how easy it is for someone in these circumstances to set up and operate a commercial operation on the commercial area in full view. The individuals participating, we found, compensate Kurdish individuals who have UK citizenship to legally establish the operations in their names, helping to fool the government agencies.

Ali and Saman also succeeded to covertly document one of those at the centre of the network, who stated that he could erase government penalties of up to sixty thousand pounds encountered those using unauthorized laborers.

"Personally aimed to contribute in exposing these illegal operations [...] to loudly proclaim that they don't speak for our community," states one reporter, a ex- asylum seeker himself. The reporter came to the country without authorization, having escaped from Kurdistan - a region that spans the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not internationally recognised as a state - because his life was at risk.

The reporters recognize that conflicts over illegal immigration are significant in the UK and state they have both been concerned that the investigation could inflame tensions.

But Ali explains that the illegal employment "damages the whole Kurdish community" and he considers driven to "expose it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Separately, Ali explains he was anxious the reporting could be used by the far-right.

He explains this especially impressed him when he discovered that extreme right activist Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom protest was occurring in London on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating secretly. Banners and flags could be seen at the gathering, showing "we demand our nation back".

Both journalists have both been tracking online feedback to the exposé from within the Kurdish community and explain it has caused intense outrage for certain individuals. One social media post they found stated: "How can we locate and locate [the undercover reporters] to harm them like dogs!"

One more called for their relatives in Kurdistan to be slaughtered.

They have also seen accusations that they were spies for the UK authorities, and traitors to other Kurds. "Both of us are not informants, and we have no intention of harming the Kurdish population," Saman states. "Our goal is to reveal those who have damaged its image. We are honored of our Kurdish-origin heritage and extremely troubled about the actions of such people."

Most of those applying for asylum state they are fleeing political persecution, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a charity that assists refugees and refugee applicants in the United Kingdom.

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

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

"Practically saying, this is not sufficient to sustain a acceptable existence," says the expert from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are largely prohibited from working, he believes a significant number are open to being exploited and are essentially "compelled to labor in the unofficial market for as low as £3 per hourly rate".

A spokesperson for the government department said: "The government do not apologize for refusing to grant refugee applicants the authorization to work - granting this would create an motivation for people to migrate to the United Kingdom illegally."

Refugee cases can require years to be resolved with approximately a one-third taking over a year, according to official data from the end of March this current year.

Saman explains working illegally in a car wash, hair salon or mini-mart would have been extremely straightforward to do, but he told the team he would not have participated in that.

Nevertheless, he states that those he encountered working in illegal convenience stores during his investigation seemed "confused", notably those whose asylum claim has been denied and who were in the appeals process.

"They expended their entire funds to migrate to the United Kingdom, they had their asylum denied and now they've forfeited all they had."

Ali acknowledges that these individuals seemed hopeless.

"If [they] declare you're forbidden to work - but simultaneously [you]