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

Two Kurdish-background men agreed to operate secretly to uncover a operation behind illegal High Street establishments because the criminals are negatively affecting the standing of Kurds in the United Kingdom, they state.

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

The team discovered that a Kurdish-linked illegal enterprise was managing mini-marts, hair salons and car washes throughout the UK, and sought to discover more about how it operated and who was taking part.

Prepared with secret cameras, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish refugee applicants with no authorization to be employed, seeking to buy and run a convenience store from which to distribute illegal cigarettes and vapes.

They were successful to reveal how simple it is for someone in these conditions to start and operate a business on the commercial area in plain sight. Those involved, we learned, compensate Kurdish individuals who have UK residency to legally establish the businesses in their names, enabling to deceive the authorities.

Saman and Ali also managed to discreetly record one of those at the centre of the network, who asserted that he could erase official sanctions of up to £60k faced those employing illegal employees.

"Personally wanted to participate in revealing these unlawful operations [...] to say that they don't represent us," says Saman, a ex- asylum seeker himself. The reporter came to the UK illegally, having escaped from Kurdistan - a region that spans the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not officially recognized as a country - because his life was at threat.

The investigators admit that disagreements over unauthorized migration are significant in the United Kingdom and say they have both been anxious that the probe could inflame conflicts.

But Ali says that the unauthorized working "harms the entire Kurdish-origin community" and he feels driven to "expose it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Additionally, Ali explains he was concerned the coverage could be exploited by the radical right.

He explains this notably struck him when he discovered that radical right campaigner Tommy Robinson's national unity protest was happening in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was working secretly. Banners and flags could be seen at the protest, showing "we demand our country returned".

Both journalists have both been monitoring online feedback to the investigation from within the Kurdish-origin population and report it has caused intense outrage for some. One Facebook post they spotted said: "How can we find and find [the undercover reporters] to kill them like dogs!"

A different demanded their relatives in Kurdistan to be harmed.

They have also encountered claims that they were agents for the British government, and traitors to other Kurdish people. "Both of us are not spies, and we have no aim of hurting the Kurdish population," Saman explains. "Our aim is to expose those who have damaged its image. We are proud of our Kurdish-origin heritage and deeply concerned about the behavior of such people."

Most of those seeking asylum state they are escaping politically motivated persecution, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a non-profit that helps asylum seekers and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the case for our undercover journalist Saman, who, when he first came to the UK, experienced challenges for years. He says he had to live on less than £20 a per week while his refugee application was reviewed.

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

"Honestly saying, this isn't adequate to support a dignified existence," explains the expert from the the organization.

Because refugee applicants are mostly restricted from working, he feels a significant number are vulnerable to being exploited and are practically "obligated to labor in the black sector for as low as £3 per hour".

A spokesperson for the government department stated: "The government make no apology for refusing to grant refugee applicants the permission to work - granting this would generate an reason for individuals to migrate to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Asylum cases can require a long time to be decided with approximately a third taking more than 12 months, according to official figures from the end of March this current year.

Saman states working without authorization in a vehicle cleaning service, hair salon or convenience store would have been very simple to achieve, but he informed the team he would never have engaged in that.

However, he states that those he met laboring in unauthorized convenience stores during his investigation seemed "lost", especially those whose refugee application has been denied and who were in the legal challenge.

"They expended all their savings to migrate to the UK, they had their refugee application rejected and now they've forfeited all they had."

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

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