The Reasons We Chose to Go Undercover to Expose Crime in the Kurdish Community

A pair of Kurdish men consented to work covertly to reveal a network behind unlawful main street enterprises because the lawbreakers are negatively affecting the reputation of Kurds in the UK, they explain.

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

The team discovered that a Kurdish-linked illegal enterprise was managing small shops, barbershops and vehicle cleaning services across the United Kingdom, and wanted to find out more about how it functioned and who was involved.

Armed with hidden cameras, Ali and Saman posed as Kurdish refugee applicants with no permission to be employed, attempting to purchase and manage a mini-mart from which to distribute illegal cigarettes and vapes.

The investigators were able to reveal how straightforward it is for someone in these conditions to establish and operate a business on the High Street in public view. Those involved, we learned, pay Kurdish individuals who have UK residency to legally establish the enterprises in their identities, helping to fool the authorities.

Ali and Saman also managed to discreetly document one of those at the core of the operation, who stated that he could eliminate government fines of up to £60k encountered those employing illegal employees.

"I aimed to participate in uncovering these illegal activities [...] to say that they don't speak for our community," states Saman, a former asylum seeker personally. Saman came to the country illegally, having fled the Kurdish region - a region that straddles the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not officially recognized as a state - because his life was at risk.

The reporters recognize that conflicts over unauthorized migration are elevated in the UK and explain they have both been worried that the probe could worsen conflicts.

But Ali states that the illegal working "negatively affects the whole Kurdish population" and he believes compelled to "bring it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Separately, Ali mentions he was anxious the reporting could be used by the radical right.

He says this notably affected him when he realized that far-right activist Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom march was taking place in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating undercover. Signs and flags could be seen at the protest, reading "we demand our country back".

The reporters have both been observing social media response to the investigation from inside the Kurdish population and say it has caused intense anger for some. One Facebook message they observed stated: "How can we locate and locate [the undercover reporters] to attack them like animals!"

A different urged their relatives in Kurdistan to be attacked.

They have also encountered allegations that they were informants for the UK government, and traitors to other Kurds. "Both of us are not informants, and we have no intention of hurting the Kurdish population," one reporter explains. "Our aim is to uncover those who have compromised its image. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish identity and deeply worried about the behavior of such individuals."

The majority of those applying for asylum claim they are escaping politically motivated discrimination, according to an expert from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a non-profit that supports asylum seekers and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the case for our undercover journalist Saman, who, when he initially came to the United Kingdom, experienced challenges for years. He states he had to survive on less than twenty pounds a per week while his asylum claim was considered.

Asylum seekers now get approximately forty-nine pounds a per week - or £9.95 if they are in shelter which offers meals, according to government regulations.

"Practically saying, this is not enough to support a acceptable life," explains Mr Avicil from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are largely restricted from working, he believes numerous are vulnerable to being exploited and are essentially "forced to work in the unofficial market for as little as three pounds per hourly rate".

A representative for the authorities stated: "The government make no apology for denying asylum seekers the right to work - doing so would create an incentive for individuals to come to the UK illegally."

Asylum cases can require multiple years to be resolved with approximately a third requiring more than 12 months, according to government figures from the spring this year.

The reporter explains working without authorization in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or mini-mart would have been quite straightforward to do, but he explained to the team he would never have done that.

Nonetheless, he explains that those he met laboring in illegal mini-marts during his work seemed "disoriented", particularly those whose asylum claim has been rejected and who were in the appeals process.

"These individuals used their entire funds to migrate to the United Kingdom, they had their refugee application denied and now they've sacrificed their entire investment."

The other reporter concurs that these people seemed in dire straits.

"When [they] declare you're not allowed to work - but simultaneously [you]