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

Two Kurdish-background individuals agreed to work covertly to reveal a organization behind unlawful High Street establishments because the wrongdoers are negatively affecting the image of Kurds in the UK, they explain.

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

Investigators discovered that a Kurdish-linked illegal enterprise was operating mini-marts, hair salons and car washes the length of the United Kingdom, and aimed to discover more about how it functioned and who was involved.

Armed with covert cameras, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no permission to be employed, looking to acquire and operate a convenience store from which to distribute contraband cigarettes and vapes.

They were able to uncover how easy it is for someone in these situations to establish and operate a enterprise on the High Street in public view. Those participating, we discovered, compensate Kurdish individuals who have UK citizenship to register the businesses in their identities, helping to fool the government agencies.

Saman and Ali also succeeded to covertly record one of those at the heart of the organization, who claimed that he could eliminate government sanctions of up to £60,000 imposed on those using illegal employees.

"Personally aimed to contribute in exposing these illegal activities [...] to declare that they don't speak for us," says one reporter, a ex- asylum seeker personally. Saman entered the country without authorization, having escaped from Kurdistan - a territory that spans the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not internationally recognised as a country - because his life was at threat.

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

But the other reporter states that the illegal working "damages the whole Kurdish community" and he feels compelled to "expose it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Additionally, Ali mentions he was worried the publication could be seized upon by the radical right.

He says this notably struck him when he noticed that far-right activist Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom rally was occurring in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was working undercover. Banners and flags could be spotted at the rally, displaying "we demand our country back".

Saman and Ali have both been observing social media feedback to the inquiry from within the Kurdish-origin community and say it has sparked significant frustration for some. One Facebook message they spotted stated: "How can we find and track [the undercover reporters] to kill them like animals!"

A different urged their families in Kurdistan to be harmed.

They have also encountered claims that they were agents for the British government, and traitors to other Kurdish people. "We are not informants, and we have no aim of harming the Kurdish-origin community," one reporter explains. "Our objective is to expose those who have damaged its image. We are proud of our Kurdish-origin heritage and deeply troubled about the actions of such people."

The majority of those seeking asylum state they are escaping politically motivated discrimination, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a refugee support organization, a charity that helps asylum seekers and asylum seekers in the United Kingdom.

This was the case for our undercover journalist one investigator, who, when he initially arrived to the UK, struggled for many years. He says he had to live on less than £20 a per week while his asylum claim was reviewed.

Refugee applicants now are provided about £49 a week - or £9.95 if they are in accommodation which offers food, according to government regulations.

"Honestly saying, this is not adequate to maintain a dignified lifestyle," says the expert from the the organization.

Because asylum seekers are largely prohibited from employment, he thinks many are open to being manipulated and are practically "obligated to work in the illegal economy for as low as three pounds per hour".

A representative for the Home Office commented: "The government do not apologize for not granting refugee applicants the authorization to be employed - granting this would establish an reason for people to come to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Asylum applications can take a long time to be decided with nearly a third requiring more than 12 months, according to official figures from the spring this current year.

The reporter explains working illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, hair salon or mini-mart would have been quite easy to achieve, but he told the team he would not have done that.

Nevertheless, he says that those he encountered employed in unauthorized convenience stores during his research seemed "disoriented", notably those whose asylum claim has been refused and who were in the legal challenge.

"These individuals used all of their money to come to the United Kingdom, they had their refugee application denied and now they've forfeited all they had."

Ali acknowledges that these people seemed desperate.

"If [they] state you're forbidden to be employed - but also [you]