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

Two Kurdish men consented to operate secretly to expose a operation behind illegal High Street enterprises because the lawbreakers are damaging the image of Kurds in the UK, they explain.

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

The team found that a Kurdish-linked crime network was managing small shops, hair salons and vehicle cleaning services across the UK, and sought to discover more about how it functioned and who was involved.

Armed with secret recording devices, Ali and Saman presented themselves as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no right to be employed, looking to acquire and operate a mini-mart from which to trade illegal tobacco products and vapes.

The investigators were successful to reveal how simple it is for a person in these circumstances to set up and run a commercial operation on the main street in plain sight. Those participating, we found, pay Kurdish individuals who have British citizenship to legally establish the businesses in their names, helping to fool the officials.

Ali and Saman also were able to covertly film one of those at the heart of the operation, who stated that he could erase government fines of up to £60k imposed on those employing illegal laborers.

"Personally wanted to play a role in uncovering these unlawful activities [...] to loudly proclaim that they don't speak for Kurdish people," explains one reporter, a ex- asylum seeker personally. Saman came to the country without authorization, having fled Kurdistan - a area that straddles the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not officially recognized as a nation - because his life was at threat.

The reporters acknowledge that conflicts over unauthorized migration are significant in the United Kingdom and say they have both been anxious that the inquiry could inflame tensions.

But Ali says that the illegal working "harms the whole Kurdish community" and he considers driven to "bring it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Additionally, Ali says he was concerned the coverage could be exploited by the far-right.

He states this particularly struck him when he noticed that radical right campaigner a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom rally was taking place in London on one of the weekends he was working secretly. Signs and flags could be spotted at the protest, reading "we want our nation back".

The reporters have both been observing social media response to the investigation from inside the Kurdish-origin population and report it has generated intense frustration for certain individuals. One Facebook post they found stated: "How can we find and locate [the undercover reporters] to attack them like dogs!"

One more demanded their relatives in Kurdistan to be slaughtered.

They have also encountered allegations that they were spies for the UK authorities, and betrayers to other Kurds. "Both of us are not spies, and we have no aim of hurting the Kurdish community," Saman explains. "Our objective is to uncover those who have compromised its image. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish heritage and profoundly troubled about the activities of such persons."

The majority of those seeking asylum say they are fleeing political discrimination, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a refugee support organization, a organization that supports refugees and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the case for our undercover reporter one investigator, who, when he initially came to the UK, struggled for years. He explains he had to survive on less than twenty pounds a per week while his asylum claim was reviewed.

Asylum seekers now are provided about forty-nine pounds a week - or £9.95 if they are in accommodation which includes food, according to official regulations.

"Honestly saying, this isn't adequate to support a acceptable lifestyle," explains the expert from the RWCA.

Because asylum seekers are largely prohibited from employment, he believes a significant number are open to being taken advantage of and are essentially "obligated to work in the black market for as low as £3 per hourly rate".

A representative for the authorities commented: "The government are unapologetic for not granting refugee applicants the permission to be employed - granting this would create an incentive for individuals to travel to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Refugee cases can take years to be processed with approximately a third requiring over a year, according to government statistics from the end of March this current year.

Saman explains working without authorization in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or convenience store would have been very straightforward to do, but he told us he would never have engaged in that.

Nevertheless, he states that those he interviewed laboring in unauthorized mini-marts during his work seemed "disoriented", particularly those whose asylum claim has been refused and who were in the appeal stage.

"They spent all of their money to come to the UK, they had their refugee application denied and now they've lost their entire investment."

Ali agrees that these individuals seemed in dire straits.

"If [they] say you're prohibited to work - but simultaneously [you]