The Reasons We Went Undercover to Uncover Crime in the Kurdish-origin Community

Two Kurdish-background individuals decided to work covertly to uncover a operation behind illegal commercial establishments because the lawbreakers are causing harm the standing of Kurdish people in the UK, they explain.

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

The team discovered that a Kurdish criminal operation was running mini-marts, barbershops and car washes across Britain, and wanted to discover more about how it worked and who was taking part.

Prepared with secret recording devices, Ali and Saman posed as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no permission to be employed, looking to acquire and operate a convenience store from which to trade contraband cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were able to reveal how straightforward it is for an individual in these circumstances to set up and run a commercial operation on the High Street in public view. The individuals participating, we found, compensate Kurdish individuals who have UK residency to legally establish the operations in their identities, helping to mislead the officials.

Saman and Ali also managed to secretly record one of those at the centre of the network, who claimed that he could erase government penalties of up to £60,000 imposed on those hiring unauthorized employees.

"Personally sought to participate in revealing these unlawful activities [...] to declare that they do not characterize us," explains Saman, a ex- refugee applicant himself. The reporter entered the country illegally, having fled Kurdistan - a territory that covers the borders of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not globally acknowledged as a country - because his life was at risk.

The reporters acknowledge that conflicts over unauthorized immigration are significant in the UK and explain they have both been worried that the investigation could inflame tensions.

But the other reporter explains that the unauthorized working "damages the whole Kurdish community" and he considers driven to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Furthermore, Ali mentions he was concerned the publication could be exploited by the extreme right.

He says this particularly impressed him when he noticed that extreme right activist a prominent activist's national unity rally was occurring in London on one of the weekends he was operating secretly. Banners and flags could be observed at the rally, showing "we demand our country back".

Both journalists have both been tracking social media response to the investigation from within the Kurdish-origin community and report it has sparked significant anger for certain individuals. One Facebook message they observed read: "How can we locate and find [the undercover reporters] to harm them like animals!"

One more urged their relatives in Kurdistan to be harmed.

They have also seen accusations that they were spies for the British government, and betrayers to fellow Kurds. "We are not informants, and we have no aim of harming the Kurdish-origin population," one reporter explains. "Our aim is to reveal those who have compromised its standing. We are proud of our Kurdish heritage and deeply concerned about the activities of such people."

Most of those applying for asylum claim they are escaping politically motivated persecution, 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 reporter one investigator, who, when he first came to the United Kingdom, faced difficulties for many years. He explains he had to live on less than £20 a per week while his refugee application was reviewed.

Refugee applicants now receive approximately £49 a per week - or £9.95 if they are in housing which offers food, according to Home Office regulations.

"Honestly speaking, this is not adequate to maintain a acceptable existence," states Mr Avicil from the RWCA.

Because asylum seekers are generally prohibited from working, he feels numerous are susceptible to being exploited and are practically "compelled to labor in the illegal sector for as little as three pounds per hourly rate".

A spokesperson for the government department said: "The government are unapologetic for denying refugee applicants the authorization to work - doing so would establish an incentive for individuals to travel to the UK without authorization."

Refugee applications can require a long time to be processed with nearly a 33% taking over a year, according to government figures from the end of March this current year.

The reporter says being employed illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or convenience store would have been extremely straightforward to accomplish, but he informed us he would never have done that.

Nonetheless, he says that those he encountered employed in illegal convenience stores during his research seemed "confused", particularly those whose refugee application has been rejected and who were in the legal challenge.

"They used all their funds to come to the UK, they had their asylum rejected and now they've lost everything."

Ali acknowledges that these people seemed hopeless.

"When [they] say you're forbidden to be employed - but also [you]