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

A pair of Kurdish-background individuals consented to operate secretly to uncover a network behind illegal High Street businesses because the criminals are damaging the reputation of Kurds in the UK, they explain.

The two, who we are referring to as Saman and Ali, are Kurdish investigators who have both resided legally in the UK for a long time.

Investigators found that a Kurdish criminal operation was running mini-marts, barbershops and vehicle cleaning services throughout the UK, and wanted to find out more about how it operated and who was involved.

Armed with hidden recording devices, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish refugee applicants with no authorization to work, seeking to acquire and run a mini-mart from which to trade unlawful cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were able to reveal how straightforward it is for someone in these situations to start and run a business on the main street in full view. The individuals participating, we discovered, compensate Kurdish individuals who have UK citizenship to register the enterprises in their names, enabling to deceive the authorities.

Ali and Saman also managed to secretly record one of those at the centre of the operation, who claimed that he could erase official sanctions of up to £60k encountered those employing unauthorized laborers.

"Personally sought to contribute in uncovering these unlawful practices [...] to loudly proclaim that they do not speak for Kurdish people," states one reporter, a former refugee applicant himself. The reporter came to the UK illegally, having escaped from the Kurdish region - a region that covers the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not globally acknowledged as a state - because his safety was at risk.

The reporters acknowledge that disagreements over unauthorized migration are elevated in the UK and state they have both been concerned that the probe could worsen hostilities.

But Ali explains that the illegal working "negatively affects the whole Kurdish population" and he feels compelled to "bring it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Separately, the journalist mentions he was worried the reporting could be seized upon by the radical right.

He explains this particularly struck him when he realized that extreme right activist a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom protest was taking place in the capital on one of the weekends he was operating secretly. Placards and banners could be seen at the rally, showing "we demand our country back".

The reporters have both been tracking online response to the inquiry from within the Kurdish-origin community and explain it has caused intense anger for certain individuals. One social media post they spotted stated: "How can we locate and track [the undercover reporters] to kill them like dogs!"

Another called for their relatives in the Kurdish region to be slaughtered.

They have also encountered accusations that they were agents for the UK authorities, and betrayers to other Kurdish people. "Both of us are not spies, and we have no aim of damaging the Kurdish population," Saman states. "Our objective is to reveal those who have damaged its reputation. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish-origin identity and profoundly worried about the behavior of such individuals."

Most of those applying for refugee status claim they are escaping politically motivated oppression, according to an expert from the a refugee support organization, a charity that assists asylum seekers and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the case for our covert journalist one investigator, who, when he initially arrived to the UK, struggled for years. He explains he had to live on under twenty pounds a week while his refugee application was processed.

Refugee applicants now are provided about forty-nine pounds a per week - or £9.95 if they are in shelter which offers food, according to official policies.

"Realistically saying, this is not adequate to support a respectable life," explains Mr Avicil from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are largely prohibited from employment, he believes many are open to being taken advantage of and are essentially "compelled to labor in the black economy for as little as three pounds per hour".

A representative for the government department stated: "We do not apologize for not granting asylum seekers the authorization to work - doing so would generate an reason for individuals to come to the UK illegally."

Refugee cases can require years to be processed with nearly a third taking over one year, according to official figures from the late March this year.

The reporter explains being employed without authorization in a car wash, hair salon or mini-mart would have been quite simple to achieve, but he informed us he would not have done that.

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

"They used their entire savings to migrate to the UK, they had their asylum refused and now they've forfeited their entire investment."

Ali agrees that these individuals seemed in dire straits.

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