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

Two Kurdish men decided to operate secretly to uncover a operation behind illegal High Street establishments because the criminals are negatively affecting the reputation of Kurds in the UK, they say.

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

The team uncovered that a Kurdish crime network was operating small shops, hair salons and vehicle cleaning services throughout Britain, and sought to find out more about how it operated and who was participating.

Armed with secret cameras, Ali and Saman posed as Kurdish refugee applicants with no permission to be employed, seeking to acquire and run a mini-mart from which to sell contraband cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were able to discover how easy it is for someone in these circumstances to set up and run a commercial operation on the commercial area in public view. The individuals involved, we discovered, compensate Kurds who have UK citizenship to legally establish the businesses in their identities, helping to mislead the government agencies.

Saman and Ali also managed to secretly document one of those at the heart of the network, who claimed that he could remove government fines of up to sixty thousand pounds encountered those hiring unauthorized laborers.

"I wanted to participate in revealing these unlawful operations [...] to say that they do not represent Kurdish people," explains one reporter, a ex- refugee applicant personally. Saman entered the UK illegally, having escaped from the Kurdish region - a territory that covers the borders of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not internationally recognised as a nation - because his well-being was at risk.

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

But Ali explains that the unauthorized working "negatively affects the whole Kurdish-origin community" and he believes driven to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Furthermore, the journalist mentions he was worried the reporting could be used by the far-right.

He explains this especially affected him when he realized that extreme right campaigner a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom protest was happening in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating secretly. Placards and banners could be seen at the gathering, showing "we want our country back".

Saman and Ali have both been observing online reaction to the investigation from inside the Kurdish-origin community and say it has caused intense anger for some. One Facebook post they spotted said: "In what way can we locate and find [the undercover reporters] to attack them like animals!"

One more urged their relatives in the Kurdish region to be harmed.

They have also encountered claims that they were agents for the British government, and betrayers to fellow Kurds. "Both of us are not informants, and we have no aim of harming the Kurdish-origin population," one reporter says. "Our objective is to expose those who have damaged its reputation. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish identity and profoundly troubled about the actions of such persons."

Most of those seeking refugee status claim they are escaping politically motivated discrimination, according to an expert from the a refugee support organization, a non-profit that assists refugees and refugee applicants in the United Kingdom.

This was the case for our covert reporter one investigator, who, when he initially arrived to the United Kingdom, experienced challenges for many years. He explains he had to live on less than twenty pounds a per week while his asylum claim was processed.

Refugee applicants now are provided approximately forty-nine pounds a per week - or £9.95 if they are in housing which includes food, according to government guidance.

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

Because asylum seekers are mostly prevented from working, he feels a significant number are open to being exploited and are essentially "obligated to labor in the unofficial sector for as low as £3 per hour".

A representative for the Home Office stated: "We do not apologize for denying refugee applicants the permission to be employed - granting this would generate an incentive for individuals to migrate to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Asylum applications can require a long time to be resolved with nearly a one-third taking over 12 months, according to government data from the end of March this current year.

The reporter states working illegally in a car wash, barbershop or convenience store would have been very straightforward to achieve, but he explained to the team he would not have participated in that.

Nonetheless, he states that those he met working in illegal convenience stores during his work seemed "lost", particularly those whose refugee application has been refused and who were in the appeal stage.

"They expended all their funds to travel to the United Kingdom, they had their asylum denied and now they've sacrificed their entire investment."

The other reporter agrees that these individuals seemed hopeless.

"If [they] state you're prohibited to be employed - but additionally [you]