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

Two Kurdish-background men consented to go undercover to reveal a organization behind illegal main street enterprises because the lawbreakers are causing harm the reputation of Kurdish people in the United Kingdom, they explain.

The two, who we are calling Ali and Saman, are Kurdish investigators who have both lived legally in the UK for years.

The team uncovered that a Kurdish-linked illegal enterprise was running mini-marts, barbershops and car washes throughout the United Kingdom, and wanted to discover more about how it operated and who was participating.

Equipped with covert cameras, Ali and Saman posed as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no right to be employed, seeking to purchase and manage a mini-mart from which to trade contraband tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

They were able to discover how simple it is for an individual in these situations to start and operate a business on the main street in public view. Those participating, we learned, pay Kurds who have UK residency to register the businesses in their names, assisting to fool the authorities.

Ali and Saman also succeeded to discreetly document one of those at the heart of the network, who asserted that he could eliminate official sanctions of up to £60k imposed on those using unauthorized laborers.

"Personally sought to contribute in revealing these unlawful activities [...] to say that they do not represent our community," says Saman, a ex- refugee applicant personally. The reporter came to the UK without authorization, having fled the Kurdish region - a area that spans the boundaries of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not globally acknowledged as a country - because his life was at risk.

The reporters recognize that conflicts over unauthorized immigration are significant in the United Kingdom and explain they have both been concerned that the investigation could inflame hostilities.

But the other reporter states that the unauthorized working "negatively affects the whole Kurdish-origin population" and he believes obligated to "bring it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Additionally, Ali mentions he was concerned the publication could be seized upon by the extreme right.

He explains this especially impressed him when he realized that far-right activist Tommy Robinson's national unity rally was taking place in the capital on one of the weekends he was operating secretly. Placards and banners could be seen at the gathering, reading "we want our nation returned".

The reporters have both been monitoring online feedback to the inquiry from inside the Kurdish community and explain it has generated strong outrage for certain individuals. One Facebook post they spotted stated: "In what way can we identify and track [the undercover reporters] to kill them like animals!"

One more urged their relatives in Kurdistan to be harmed.

They have also read accusations that they were agents for the British government, and betrayers to other Kurds. "Both of us are not informants, and we have no intention of damaging the Kurdish-origin community," Saman states. "Our objective is to expose those who have compromised its image. We are proud of our Kurdish identity and profoundly concerned about the actions of such people."

Most of those applying for refugee status say they are escaping politically motivated oppression, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a charitable organization, a organization that supports refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the scenario for our covert journalist one investigator, who, when he first came to the UK, experienced challenges for many years. He says he had to live on under £20 a per week while his asylum claim was processed.

Refugee applicants now get approximately £49 a per week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in housing which includes food, according to government guidance.

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

Because refugee applicants are mostly prevented from employment, he thinks many are open to being exploited and are essentially "obligated to labor in the unofficial market for as little as £3 per hourly rate".

A representative for the Home Office stated: "The government do not apologize for refusing to grant refugee applicants the authorization to work - doing so would generate an motivation for people to travel to the United Kingdom illegally."

Refugee cases can take a long time to be decided with almost a one-third taking over one year, according to government figures from the spring this year.

The reporter says being employed without authorization in a vehicle cleaning service, hair salon or convenience store would have been extremely straightforward to accomplish, but he told the team he would not have done that.

Nevertheless, he states that those he met laboring in unauthorized mini-marts during his work seemed "disoriented", notably those whose refugee application has been rejected and who were in the appeals process.

"They expended all of their funds to travel to the UK, they had their asylum denied and now they've forfeited everything."

The other reporter acknowledges that these individuals seemed desperate.

"When [they] declare you're prohibited to work - but also [you]