The Reasons Our Team Went Undercover to Reveal Crime in the Kurdish-origin Population

A pair of Kurdish men agreed to work covertly to uncover a network behind unlawful main street enterprises because the wrongdoers are damaging the standing of Kurds in the United Kingdom, they say.

The pair, who we are referring to as Ali and Saman, are Kurdish-origin reporters who have both lived legally in the UK for a long time.

Investigators found that a Kurdish-linked crime network was operating mini-marts, barbershops and car washes across the UK, and aimed to find out more about how it functioned and who was involved.

Prepared with secret recording devices, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish asylum seekers with no permission to work, attempting to buy and run a convenience store from which to distribute contraband tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

They were successful to discover how straightforward it is for a person in these conditions to start and operate a enterprise on the High Street in plain sight. Those involved, we found, pay Kurdish individuals who have British citizenship to legally establish the businesses in their names, assisting to deceive the government agencies.

Saman and Ali also succeeded to covertly record one of those at the heart of the network, who claimed that he could erase government fines of up to £60,000 encountered those using unauthorized workers.

"I aimed to play a role in exposing these unlawful operations [...] to loudly proclaim that they don't represent us," states Saman, a ex- refugee applicant himself. The reporter came to the United Kingdom without authorization, having fled the Kurdish region - a region that covers the borders of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not globally acknowledged as a nation - because his life was at risk.

The investigators admit that tensions over unauthorized immigration are elevated in the UK and state they have both been anxious that the probe could intensify tensions.

But the other reporter says that the unauthorized employment "damages the whole Kurdish-origin community" and he believes driven to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Separately, Ali says he was anxious the coverage could be seized upon by the radical right.

He states this particularly struck him when he noticed that radical right campaigner Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom rally was occurring in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was working covertly. Signs and banners could be spotted at the protest, showing "we want our country back".

Both journalists have both been tracking social media reaction to the inquiry from within the Kurdish-origin community and say it has sparked intense anger for certain individuals. One social media message they found stated: "How can we locate and find [the undercover reporters] to kill them like dogs!"

Another demanded their relatives in the Kurdish region to be harmed.

They have also encountered allegations that they were spies for the British government, and betrayers to fellow Kurdish people. "Both of us are not spies, and we have no intention of harming the Kurdish community," Saman explains. "Our objective is to expose those who have damaged its standing. We are proud of our Kurdish heritage and extremely troubled about the actions of such people."

The majority of those applying for refugee status claim they are escaping politically motivated oppression, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a charity that supports refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the situation for our covert journalist one investigator, who, when he first came to the United Kingdom, experienced challenges for many years. He states he had to live on under £20 a week while his refugee application was processed.

Refugee applicants now receive about forty-nine pounds a per week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in shelter which provides food, according to Home Office regulations.

"Practically stating, this isn't sufficient to maintain a dignified existence," states Mr Avicil from the RWCA.

Because asylum seekers are mostly prevented from employment, he feels a significant number are susceptible to being taken advantage of and are effectively "compelled to work in the unofficial economy for as little as three pounds per hourly rate".

A spokesperson for the authorities commented: "We are unapologetic for not granting asylum seekers the permission to work - doing so would establish an reason for individuals to come to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Asylum applications can take years to be decided with nearly a one-third taking more than one year, according to official data from the spring this year.

The reporter explains being employed illegally in a car wash, hair salon or mini-mart would have been very simple to do, but he explained to the team he would not have done that.

Nonetheless, he explains that those he met laboring in illegal convenience stores during his research seemed "confused", notably those whose refugee application has been refused and who were in the appeal stage.

"They used all their money to travel to the UK, they had their refugee application denied and now they've forfeited their entire investment."

The other reporter concurs that these people seemed hopeless.

"If [they] say you're not allowed to work - but additionally [you]