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

Two Kurdish individuals agreed to work covertly to uncover a network behind illegal commercial establishments because the lawbreakers are negatively affecting the standing of Kurdish people in the Britain, they say.

The two, who we are calling Ali and Saman, are Kurdish-origin journalists who have both lived lawfully in the United Kingdom for many years.

Investigators found that a Kurdish-linked crime network was operating small shops, barbershops and car washes across Britain, and aimed to find out more about how it worked and who was taking part.

Equipped with secret cameras, Ali and Saman posed as Kurdish refugee applicants with no right to be employed, attempting to buy and manage a small shop from which to distribute illegal tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were successful to reveal how straightforward it is for an individual in these situations to establish and operate a commercial operation on the main street in full view. The individuals participating, we found, compensate Kurds who have UK residency to legally establish the businesses in their identities, enabling to mislead the authorities.

Saman and Ali also succeeded to secretly record one of those at the core of the network, who asserted that he could eliminate government penalties of up to sixty thousand pounds encountered those hiring unauthorized employees.

"I sought to participate in revealing these illegal activities [...] to loudly proclaim that they don't characterize Kurdish people," explains one reporter, a former refugee applicant himself. The reporter entered the UK without authorization, having fled Kurdistan - a territory that covers the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not officially recognized as a state - because his safety was at danger.

The investigators recognize that tensions over unauthorized migration are elevated in the UK and say they have both been worried that the investigation could inflame tensions.

But Ali says that the unauthorized employment "negatively affects the whole Kurdish-origin community" and he considers compelled to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Separately, the journalist explains he was worried the reporting could be seized upon by the extreme right.

He says this notably impressed him when he noticed that far-right campaigner a prominent activist's national unity rally was occurring in London on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating secretly. Placards and flags could be seen at the gathering, showing "we want our nation back".

Saman and Ali have both been monitoring online response to the inquiry from inside the Kurdish-origin community and report it has sparked intense frustration for certain individuals. One Facebook comment they found said: "How can we find and find [the undercover reporters] to attack them like animals!"

One more demanded their families in the Kurdish region to be harmed.

They have also seen allegations that they were informants for the British authorities, and betrayers to fellow Kurdish people. "We are not informants, and we have no desire of harming the Kurdish-origin community," Saman states. "Our goal is to uncover those who have harmed its reputation. We are honored of our Kurdish-origin heritage and extremely concerned about the actions of such individuals."

The majority of those seeking refugee status state they are fleeing political discrimination, according to an expert from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a organization that supports asylum seekers and refugee applicants in the United Kingdom.

This was the case for our undercover journalist Saman, who, when he initially came to the UK, experienced challenges for many years. He says he had to survive on less than twenty pounds a week while his asylum claim was processed.

Asylum seekers now get about forty-nine pounds a per week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in shelter which offers meals, according to government regulations.

"Honestly saying, this is not sufficient to maintain a dignified existence," states Mr Avicil from the RWCA.

Because asylum seekers are generally restricted from employment, he believes numerous are susceptible to being taken advantage of and are practically "forced to work in the illegal economy for as low as three pounds per hourly rate".

A spokesperson for the authorities commented: "We are unapologetic for refusing to grant refugee applicants the right to work - doing so would establish an motivation for individuals to migrate to the UK without authorization."

Refugee applications can require multiple years to be resolved with nearly a 33% taking more than one year, according to government figures from the end of March this year.

The reporter explains being employed without authorization in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or mini-mart would have been very simple to do, but he informed the team he would not have participated in that.

Nevertheless, he says that those he encountered working in illegal mini-marts during his work seemed "lost", notably those whose refugee application has been refused and who were in the legal challenge.

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

The other reporter agrees that these individuals seemed in dire straits.

"When [they] say you're not allowed to work - but also [you]