The Reasons We Went Undercover to Reveal Criminal Activity in the Kurdish Community

Two Kurdish-background individuals consented to go undercover to expose a operation behind unlawful main street enterprises because the criminals are damaging the reputation of Kurds in the UK, they explain.

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

Investigators uncovered that a Kurdish illegal enterprise was running small shops, barbershops and vehicle cleaning services across the UK, and aimed to discover more about how it functioned and who was involved.

Prepared with hidden recording devices, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish refugee applicants with no right to be employed, attempting to purchase and run a small shop from which to trade contraband cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were able to uncover how easy it is for someone in these situations to start and manage a enterprise on the main street in plain sight. Those involved, we found, compensate Kurds who have UK residency to register the enterprises in their names, enabling to mislead the government agencies.

Ali and Saman also managed to covertly film one of those at the heart of the operation, who claimed that he could eliminate official fines of up to £60k faced those employing illegal workers.

"Personally sought to participate in uncovering these illegal activities [...] to loudly proclaim that they don't characterize us," says Saman, a ex- refugee applicant himself. Saman entered the country illegally, having escaped from Kurdistan - a area that covers the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not officially recognized as a state - because his life was at danger.

The investigators acknowledge that conflicts over illegal immigration are high in the United Kingdom and explain they have both been concerned that the probe could worsen hostilities.

But the other reporter explains that the unauthorized labor "negatively affects the entire Kurdish-origin population" and he considers compelled to "bring it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Additionally, Ali says he was worried the publication could be seized upon by the radical right.

He explains this especially affected him when he realized that radical right activist a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom protest was happening in the capital on one of the weekends he was operating undercover. Placards and banners could be observed at the gathering, reading "we demand our country back".

The reporters have both been monitoring social media response to the investigation from inside the Kurdish-origin population and say it has generated significant anger for some. One Facebook message they spotted stated: "How can we locate and find [the undercover reporters] to attack them like animals!"

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

They have also read accusations that they were agents for the UK government, and betrayers to other Kurdish people. "Both of us are not informants, and we have no intention of hurting the Kurdish community," Saman states. "Our goal is to reveal those who have damaged its image. We are proud of our Kurdish-origin identity and profoundly concerned about the actions of such people."

Most of those applying for asylum say they are escaping politically motivated discrimination, according to an expert from the a charitable organization, a charity that assists refugees and asylum seekers in the United Kingdom.

This was the scenario for our covert reporter Saman, who, when he initially came to the UK, struggled for many years. He states he had to live on under twenty pounds a per week while his asylum claim was considered.

Refugee applicants now are provided approximately £49 a per week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in housing which offers meals, according to government regulations.

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

Because asylum seekers are generally prevented from working, he believes many are susceptible to being exploited and are effectively "obligated to labor in the illegal sector for as little as £3 per hour".

A official for the government department stated: "We are unapologetic for denying asylum seekers the right to work - granting this would generate an incentive for individuals to come to the UK illegally."

Asylum cases can take a long time to be processed with almost a third requiring over a year, according to official statistics from the end of March this current year.

The reporter says working without authorization in a vehicle cleaning service, hair salon or mini-mart would have been very easy to accomplish, but he explained to us he would never have participated in that.

Nonetheless, he says that those he interviewed working in unauthorized mini-marts during his investigation seemed "lost", especially those whose refugee application has been refused and who were in the legal challenge.

"These individuals used their entire funds to come to the United Kingdom, they had their refugee application denied and now they've forfeited their entire investment."

Ali concurs that these people seemed desperate.

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