The Reasons We Went Covert to Expose Crime in the Kurdish Community

A pair of Kurdish-background men consented to work covertly to expose a operation behind illegal main street businesses because the wrongdoers are causing harm the standing of Kurdish people in the UK, they explain.

The pair, who we are calling Saman and Ali, are Kurdish investigators who have both lived legally in the UK for years.

Investigators discovered that a Kurdish illegal enterprise was operating mini-marts, barbershops and vehicle cleaning services the length of the UK, and aimed to discover more about how it worked and who was taking part.

Armed with hidden recording devices, Ali and Saman presented themselves as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no permission to work, looking to buy and operate a small shop from which to sell unlawful tobacco products and vapes.

They were able to reveal how straightforward it is for someone in these conditions to start and run a enterprise on the High Street in public view. Those involved, we discovered, compensate Kurds who have UK citizenship to register the businesses in their names, enabling to mislead the authorities.

Saman and Ali also managed to secretly record one of those at the centre of the operation, who claimed that he could erase government penalties of up to £60k imposed on those employing illegal laborers.

"I sought to play a role in exposing these unlawful operations [...] to declare that they do not speak for us," explains one reporter, a former refugee applicant personally. Saman came to the United Kingdom illegally, having fled the Kurdish region - a territory that straddles the borders of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not officially recognized as a nation - because his well-being was at risk.

The journalists recognize that disagreements over unauthorized migration are elevated in the UK and state they have both been concerned that the probe could intensify tensions.

But Ali states that the illegal working "negatively affects the whole Kurdish-origin population" and he believes obligated to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Separately, the journalist says he was concerned the publication could be seized upon by the radical right.

He says this particularly struck him when he realized that far-right campaigner Tommy Robinson's national unity rally was occurring in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was working undercover. Banners and banners could be spotted at the protest, showing "we demand our country returned".

Both journalists have both been observing online feedback to the investigation from inside the Kurdish population and report it has caused strong frustration for some. One Facebook message they found stated: "In what way can we identify and find [the undercover reporters] to attack them like dogs!"

A different demanded their families in the Kurdish region to be attacked.

They have also read accusations that they were spies for the UK government, and traitors to other Kurds. "We are not informants, and we have no intention of harming the Kurdish-origin community," Saman says. "Our goal is to expose those who have damaged its image. We are proud of our Kurdish-origin identity and deeply worried about the behavior of such people."

The majority of those applying for refugee status claim they are fleeing politically motivated discrimination, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a charitable organization, a non-profit that supports refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the situation for our covert journalist one investigator, who, when he initially came to the UK, faced difficulties for many years. He says he had to survive on under twenty pounds a per week while his asylum claim was reviewed.

Refugee applicants now get about £49 a week - or £9.95 if they are in shelter which includes meals, according to official policies.

"Honestly saying, this is not enough to maintain a acceptable lifestyle," states Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because asylum seekers are mostly prohibited from employment, he feels many are susceptible to being manipulated and are practically "obligated to labor in the black sector for as low as £3 per hour".

A representative for the government department commented: "We make no apology for not granting refugee applicants the permission to work - doing so would create an motivation for people to come to the UK without authorization."

Refugee cases can require multiple years to be resolved with nearly a third requiring over a year, according to official data from the spring this current year.

The reporter explains working illegally in a car wash, hair salon or convenience store would have been very easy to accomplish, but he informed us he would not have participated in that.

Nevertheless, he says that those he met employed in illegal convenience stores during his work seemed "confused", particularly those whose refugee application has been refused and who were in the appeals process.

"These individuals expended all their money to migrate to the United Kingdom, they had their refugee application denied and now they've sacrificed their entire investment."

The other reporter concurs that these individuals seemed desperate.

"When [they] say you're prohibited to be employed - but additionally [you]