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

A pair of Kurdish-background individuals decided to work covertly to uncover a network behind unlawful main street establishments because the wrongdoers are negatively affecting the image of Kurdish people in the Britain, they say.

The pair, who we are referring to as Ali and Saman, are Kurdish-origin investigators who have both resided lawfully in the United Kingdom for many years.

The team found that a Kurdish illegal enterprise was managing convenience stores, barbershops and vehicle cleaning services the length of Britain, and wanted to find out more about how it worked and who was taking part.

Equipped with covert recording devices, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish refugee applicants with no permission to be employed, looking to purchase and operate a convenience store from which to trade unlawful cigarettes and vapes.

They were successful to discover how simple it is for an individual in these circumstances to establish and operate a enterprise on the main street in public view. The individuals involved, we learned, compensate Kurdish individuals who have UK residency to register the businesses in their names, enabling to mislead the government agencies.

Saman and Ali also succeeded to covertly document one of those at the centre of the network, who claimed that he could erase government fines of up to £60,000 encountered those employing unauthorized laborers.

"I sought to contribute in uncovering these illegal practices [...] to declare that they don't speak for our community," explains one reporter, a former asylum seeker personally. Saman entered the UK illegally, having fled the Kurdish region - a territory that straddles the borders of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not officially recognized as a nation - because his life was at risk.

The investigators acknowledge that conflicts over illegal migration are elevated in the United Kingdom and state they have both been concerned that the investigation could intensify hostilities.

But Ali says that the illegal labor "harms the whole Kurdish-origin community" and he feels driven to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Separately, Ali mentions he was worried the reporting could be used by the far-right.

He says this particularly affected him when he noticed that extreme right campaigner Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom rally was happening in London on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was working secretly. Banners and flags could be seen at the rally, displaying "we want our nation back".

Both journalists have both been monitoring online feedback to the exposé from inside the Kurdish population and say it has sparked strong anger for some. One social media post they spotted said: "In what way can we locate and find [the undercover reporters] to kill them like dogs!"

Another demanded their families in the Kurdish region to be slaughtered.

They have also read allegations that they were agents for the UK government, and traitors to fellow Kurdish people. "We are not spies, and we have no desire of hurting the Kurdish population," Saman says. "Our goal is to expose those who have damaged its image. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish identity and deeply concerned about the actions of such individuals."

Most of those seeking refugee status state they are fleeing politically motivated discrimination, according to an expert from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a non-profit that supports refugees and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the scenario for our undercover journalist Saman, who, when he first came to the United Kingdom, faced difficulties for years. He states he had to live on under £20 a per week while his asylum claim was processed.

Asylum seekers now receive approximately forty-nine pounds a per week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in housing which includes meals, according to Home Office regulations.

"Practically speaking, this is not adequate to sustain a dignified lifestyle," states the expert from the the organization.

Because refugee applicants are generally prevented from working, he thinks a significant number are open to being exploited and are effectively "obligated to labor in the black market for as little as three pounds per hour".

A representative for the authorities said: "The government make no apology for refusing to grant refugee applicants the right to be employed - doing so would create an reason for people to come to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Refugee cases can take years to be resolved with almost a 33% requiring over one year, according to official statistics from the end of March this current year.

The reporter explains working illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or convenience store would have been extremely easy to achieve, but he informed us he would never have engaged in that.

Nonetheless, he explains that those he encountered working in unauthorized mini-marts during his investigation seemed "disoriented", particularly those whose refugee application has been refused and who were in the appeals process.

"These individuals expended their entire funds to migrate to the UK, they had their refugee application rejected and now they've sacrificed their entire investment."

The other reporter concurs that these individuals seemed desperate.

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