Why Our Team Chose to Go Undercover to Uncover Criminal Activity in the Kurdish Community

Two Kurdish-background men decided to work covertly to uncover a network behind unlawful High Street establishments because the criminals are negatively affecting the image of Kurdish people in the United Kingdom, they explain.

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

The team discovered that a Kurdish-linked criminal operation was managing mini-marts, barbershops and vehicle cleaning services the length of Britain, and wanted to learn more about how it operated and who was involved.

Prepared with secret cameras, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no authorization to be employed, seeking to purchase and manage a convenience store from which to trade illegal tobacco products and vapes.

The investigators were able to discover how simple it is for an individual in these conditions to establish and run a commercial operation on the main street in full view. Those involved, we learned, compensate Kurdish individuals who have UK citizenship to legally establish the businesses in their names, assisting to fool the government agencies.

Saman and Ali also were able to covertly film one of those at the centre of the operation, who claimed that he could erase government sanctions of up to £60,000 imposed on those using unauthorized workers.

"Personally sought to play a role in exposing these illegal activities [...] to say that they do not speak for us," says one reporter, a ex- refugee applicant himself. The reporter came to the United Kingdom illegally, having fled Kurdistan - a territory that covers the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not officially recognized as a nation - because his safety was at danger.

The journalists admit that disagreements over illegal immigration are elevated in the UK and say they have both been worried that the investigation could worsen tensions.

But the other reporter says that the illegal labor "damages the entire Kurdish community" and he feels driven to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Additionally, the journalist explains he was anxious the coverage could be seized upon by the radical right.

He says this especially impressed him when he noticed that radical right campaigner Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom rally was occurring in the capital on one of the weekends he was working secretly. Placards and flags could be seen at the rally, showing "we want our country returned".

Both journalists have both been monitoring social media response to the inquiry from within the Kurdish-origin community and say it has generated intense outrage for certain individuals. One Facebook comment they spotted stated: "In what way can we identify and find [the undercover reporters] to harm them like animals!"

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

They have also read accusations that they were agents for the British authorities, and betrayers to fellow Kurds. "Both of us are not informants, and we have no desire of hurting the Kurdish community," Saman says. "Our objective is to expose those who have compromised its standing. We are proud of our Kurdish-origin identity and profoundly concerned about the behavior of such persons."

The majority of those applying for asylum say they are fleeing political discrimination, according to an expert from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a non-profit that helps refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the case for our covert journalist one investigator, who, when he initially came to the United Kingdom, experienced challenges for many years. He says he had to survive on under twenty pounds a week while his refugee application was considered.

Asylum seekers now are provided about forty-nine pounds a per week - or £9.95 if they are in shelter which offers food, according to Home Office policies.

"Realistically speaking, this isn't enough to maintain a acceptable lifestyle," says the expert from the RWCA.

Because asylum seekers are largely prevented from working, he thinks numerous are vulnerable to being exploited and are practically "compelled to work in the illegal sector for as low as £3 per hour".

A official for the authorities stated: "We do not apologize for not granting refugee applicants the authorization to work - granting this would generate an reason for individuals to travel to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Asylum applications can require a long time to be resolved with approximately a one-third requiring over 12 months, according to government data from the spring this current year.

Saman states working without authorization in a vehicle cleaning service, hair salon or mini-mart would have been quite simple to achieve, but he told us he would not have participated in that.

However, he states that those he encountered employed in illegal mini-marts during his research seemed "lost", notably those whose refugee application has been rejected and who were in the appeal stage.

"These individuals spent all of their savings to migrate to the United Kingdom, they had their asylum refused and now they've sacrificed their entire investment."

The other reporter concurs that these people seemed hopeless.

"If [they] declare you're forbidden to work - but simultaneously [you]