The Reasons We Went Undercover to Uncover Crime in the Kurdish Population

A pair of Kurdish men consented to go undercover to expose a network behind unlawful High Street establishments because the criminals are negatively affecting the standing of Kurdish people in the United Kingdom, they state.

The pair, who we are referring to as Saman and Ali, are Kurdish journalists who have both resided legally in the United Kingdom for years.

Investigators found that a Kurdish-linked illegal enterprise was managing small shops, barbershops and car washes throughout the UK, and sought to discover more about how it worked and who was involved.

Armed with hidden recording devices, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish refugee applicants with no permission to work, attempting to buy and manage a small shop from which to distribute contraband cigarettes and vapes.

The investigators were successful to discover how easy it is for a person in these conditions to start and manage a business on the main street in public view. Those involved, we learned, compensate Kurds who have UK residency to legally establish the operations in their names, helping to deceive the authorities.

Saman and Ali also were able to secretly document one of those at the heart of the organization, who stated that he could remove government sanctions of up to £60,000 encountered those employing illegal employees.

"I wanted to play a role in revealing these illegal activities [...] to say that they don't characterize us," states Saman, a former refugee applicant himself. Saman entered the country without authorization, having fled Kurdistan - a territory that straddles the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not internationally recognised as a state - because his life was at danger.

The reporters admit that tensions over illegal immigration are elevated in the UK and say they have both been worried that the inquiry could intensify conflicts.

But the other reporter explains that the illegal working "harms the whole Kurdish-origin community" and he believes compelled to "expose it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Furthermore, Ali mentions he was worried the reporting could be seized upon by the radical right.

He explains this particularly affected him when he realized that extreme right campaigner a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom rally was happening in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating secretly. Placards and banners could be observed at the rally, reading "we want our nation returned".

Saman and Ali have both been tracking online feedback to the investigation from within the Kurdish-origin community and say it has caused significant frustration for some. One Facebook message they spotted said: "How can we locate and find [the undercover reporters] to attack them like animals!"

One more called for their families in the Kurdish region to be slaughtered.

They have also seen allegations that they were informants for the British authorities, and traitors to fellow Kurdish people. "We are not informants, and we have no intention of harming the Kurdish population," Saman states. "Our objective is to uncover those who have damaged its image. We are honored of our Kurdish-origin heritage and profoundly worried about the actions of such persons."

The majority of those applying for asylum claim they are fleeing political discrimination, according to an expert from the a refugee support organization, a charity that supports asylum seekers and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the case for our undercover journalist one investigator, who, when he initially came to the UK, faced difficulties for many years. He explains he had to survive on under twenty pounds a per week while his refugee application was considered.

Asylum seekers now receive approximately forty-nine pounds a week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in shelter which provides food, according to official policies.

"Practically saying, this is not enough to maintain a acceptable existence," says the expert from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are mostly prevented from employment, he thinks a significant number are susceptible to being taken advantage of and are effectively "compelled to work in the unofficial economy for as little as £3 per hour".

A spokesperson for the authorities said: "We make no apology for not granting asylum seekers the right to be employed - granting this would create an reason for people to travel to the UK without authorization."

Asylum cases can take a long time to be resolved with approximately a third taking over one year, according to official data from the end of March this year.

Saman explains being employed illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or mini-mart would have been quite straightforward to accomplish, but he explained to us he would never have participated in that.

Nonetheless, he explains that those he encountered working in illegal mini-marts during his investigation seemed "lost", especially those whose refugee application has been rejected and who were in the legal challenge.

"These individuals used their entire funds to migrate to the UK, they had their refugee application denied and now they've sacrificed all they had."

Ali acknowledges that these people seemed hopeless.

"If [they] declare you're not allowed to be employed - but additionally [you]