Why Our Team Went Undercover to Reveal Crime in the Kurdish Community

Two Kurdish individuals consented to go undercover to uncover a organization behind illegal main street establishments because the wrongdoers are damaging the image of Kurds in the Britain, they say.

The two, who we are calling Ali and Saman, are Kurdish reporters who have both lived lawfully in the United Kingdom for a long time.

The team uncovered that a Kurdish-linked illegal enterprise was operating convenience stores, hair salons and car washes the length of Britain, and aimed to discover more about how it operated and who was participating.

Prepared with hidden cameras, Ali and Saman presented themselves as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no permission to work, attempting to acquire and run a convenience store from which to distribute unlawful tobacco products and vapes.

They were able to reveal how simple it is for a person in these situations to set up and operate a business on the High Street in full view. The individuals involved, we found, pay Kurds who have British citizenship to legally establish the enterprises in their identities, assisting to deceive the authorities.

Saman and Ali also managed to covertly document one of those at the centre of the network, who asserted that he could erase government sanctions of up to £60k encountered those hiring illegal laborers.

"Personally wanted to contribute in exposing these illegal activities [...] to say that they don't speak for our community," says Saman, a ex- refugee applicant personally. Saman entered the country illegally, having fled the Kurdish region - a region that covers the boundaries of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not officially recognized as a state - because his life was at risk.

The journalists acknowledge that disagreements over illegal migration are high in the UK and state they have both been worried that the inquiry could inflame conflicts.

But the other reporter explains that the illegal working "damages the entire Kurdish community" and he believes driven to "bring it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Furthermore, the journalist says he was anxious the coverage could be exploited by the radical right.

He states this notably affected him when he discovered that extreme right campaigner a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom protest was happening in the capital on one of the weekends he was working covertly. Placards and flags could be observed at the rally, reading "we demand our nation back".

Saman and Ali have both been observing social media feedback to the exposé from within the Kurdish population and say it has sparked significant outrage for some. One Facebook message they observed read: "In what way can we find and locate [the undercover reporters] to kill them like dogs!"

A different demanded their relatives in the Kurdish region to be harmed.

They have also seen claims that they were spies for the British authorities, and traitors to other Kurds. "We are not spies, and we have no intention of hurting the Kurdish-origin community," Saman says. "Our objective is to expose those who have compromised its reputation. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish heritage and profoundly worried about the activities of such individuals."

Most of those applying for asylum state they are fleeing political oppression, according to an expert from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a organization that helps asylum seekers and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the scenario for our undercover journalist Saman, who, when he first arrived to the United Kingdom, struggled for years. He explains he had to live on less than £20 a per week while his asylum claim was reviewed.

Asylum seekers now get about forty-nine pounds a per week - or £9.95 if they are in housing which provides meals, according to official policies.

"Honestly speaking, this is not sufficient to maintain a acceptable life," explains the expert from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are largely restricted from employment, he thinks many are open to being exploited and are effectively "compelled to work in the illegal economy for as little as three pounds per hourly rate".

A official for the authorities stated: "We are unapologetic for denying asylum seekers the right to be employed - granting this would create an incentive for individuals to migrate to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Asylum applications can take years to be resolved with nearly a third taking over a year, according to government data from the end of March this current year.

Saman states working illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or mini-mart would have been quite easy to accomplish, but he informed the team he would never have participated in that.

Nonetheless, he states that those he met employed in illegal convenience stores during his investigation seemed "lost", notably those whose asylum claim has been rejected and who were in the legal challenge.

"These individuals expended all of their money to come to the United Kingdom, they had their refugee application rejected and now they've lost everything."

Ali acknowledges that these individuals seemed in dire straits.

"When [they] declare you're not allowed to be employed - but also [you]