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

A pair of Kurdish-background men agreed to work covertly to reveal a operation behind unlawful main street businesses because the lawbreakers are negatively affecting the reputation of Kurdish people in the United Kingdom, they explain.

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

Investigators uncovered that a Kurdish crime network was running mini-marts, barbershops and car washes the length of Britain, and sought to discover more about how it functioned and who was participating.

Prepared with secret cameras, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no right to work, looking to buy and operate a mini-mart from which to trade illegal cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

They were successful to uncover how easy it is for someone in these situations to start and run a enterprise on the High Street in public view. The individuals involved, we discovered, pay Kurds who have UK citizenship to legally establish the businesses in their names, assisting to deceive the government agencies.

Saman and Ali also were able to covertly record one of those at the centre of the network, who asserted that he could remove government sanctions of up to £60k faced those employing unauthorized workers.

"Personally aimed to play a role in revealing these unlawful operations [...] to declare that they do not represent us," states one reporter, a former refugee applicant personally. Saman entered the UK without authorization, having escaped from the Kurdish region - a territory that covers the boundaries of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not officially recognized as a state - because his safety was at risk.

The reporters acknowledge that tensions over illegal immigration are elevated in the United Kingdom and explain they have both been concerned that the inquiry could inflame hostilities.

But Ali states that the unauthorized employment "harms the entire Kurdish population" and he feels driven to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Additionally, Ali explains he was concerned the publication could be exploited by the far-right.

He states this especially struck him when he discovered that far-right activist Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom march was happening in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating covertly. Signs and banners could be spotted at the gathering, showing "we want our country returned".

Saman and Ali have both been tracking online reaction to the exposé from inside the Kurdish-origin community and explain it has sparked strong anger for some. One Facebook post they observed stated: "In what way can we find and find [the undercover reporters] to kill them like animals!"

Another demanded their relatives in Kurdistan to be attacked.

They have also read accusations that they were agents for the British government, and betrayers to other Kurds. "We are not spies, and we have no desire of hurting the Kurdish-origin community," Saman explains. "Our aim is to reveal those who have damaged its image. We are proud of our Kurdish-origin heritage and profoundly worried about the behavior of such individuals."

The majority of those applying for asylum say they are fleeing political persecution, according to an expert from the a refugee support organization, a non-profit that helps asylum seekers and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the situation for our undercover journalist Saman, who, when he first came to the UK, faced difficulties for years. He says he had to live on less than twenty pounds a per week while his refugee application was reviewed.

Refugee applicants now get about £49 a week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in accommodation which offers food, according to official policies.

"Realistically stating, this isn't enough to sustain a respectable existence," states Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because refugee applicants are largely prohibited from employment, he feels numerous are vulnerable to being exploited and are effectively "obligated to work in the unofficial sector for as low as £3 per hourly rate".

A spokesperson for the Home Office said: "We make no apology for denying asylum seekers the permission to work - granting this would establish an motivation for people to travel to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Asylum cases can take multiple years to be decided with approximately a third taking more than 12 months, according to official data from the end of March this current year.

The reporter says being employed illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or mini-mart would have been very simple to do, but he explained to us he would not have participated in that.

Nevertheless, he states that those he interviewed employed in unauthorized convenience stores during his investigation seemed "lost", notably those whose asylum claim has been rejected and who were in the legal challenge.

"These individuals expended their entire money to travel to the UK, they had their refugee application denied and now they've sacrificed all they had."

Ali concurs that these people seemed hopeless.

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