Why We Went Covert to Uncover Criminal Activity in the Kurdish-origin Community

Two Kurdish-background men consented to go undercover to reveal a network behind illegal High Street enterprises because the lawbreakers are causing harm the image of Kurdish people in the UK, they state.

The two, who we are calling Ali and Saman, are Kurdish-origin investigators who have both resided lawfully in the United Kingdom for a long time.

The team discovered that a Kurdish-linked illegal enterprise was running small shops, hair salons and car washes the length of the United Kingdom, and aimed to learn more about how it functioned and who was involved.

Prepared with secret cameras, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish asylum seekers with no authorization to be employed, looking to buy and operate a small shop from which to distribute illegal cigarettes and vapes.

They were successful to discover how simple it is for an individual in these circumstances to establish and operate a enterprise on the High Street in plain sight. The individuals participating, we discovered, pay Kurds who have UK citizenship to register the businesses in their identities, assisting to deceive the authorities.

Saman and Ali also managed to secretly document one of those at the centre of the organization, who stated that he could eliminate official fines of up to sixty thousand pounds faced those employing illegal workers.

"I sought to play a role in exposing these illegal operations [...] to declare that they do not speak for Kurdish people," says Saman, a ex- refugee applicant personally. Saman entered the United Kingdom without authorization, having escaped from Kurdistan - a area that spans the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not internationally recognised as a country - because his life was at threat.

The investigators acknowledge that tensions over unauthorized immigration are elevated in the UK and say they have both been worried that the inquiry could inflame hostilities.

But Ali states that the illegal working "negatively affects the entire Kurdish population" and he considers compelled to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Separately, Ali explains he was anxious the publication could be exploited by the radical right.

He says this especially struck him when he discovered that extreme right campaigner Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom march was occurring in the capital on one of the weekends he was working undercover. Placards and flags could be observed at the protest, displaying "we want our nation returned".

The reporters have both been observing online reaction to the exposé from within the Kurdish-origin community and say it has sparked strong outrage for certain individuals. One Facebook message they found stated: "In what way can we locate and track [the undercover reporters] to attack them like dogs!"

One more demanded their relatives in Kurdistan to be slaughtered.

They have also read accusations that they were spies for the British authorities, and betrayers to fellow Kurdish people. "We are not spies, and we have no desire of hurting the Kurdish community," one reporter says. "Our aim is to expose those who have harmed its standing. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish-origin heritage and profoundly troubled about the actions of such individuals."

Most of those seeking refugee status claim they are escaping political persecution, according to an expert from the a charitable organization, a charity that assists refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the scenario for our undercover journalist one investigator, who, when he initially arrived to the United Kingdom, struggled for years. He explains he had to live on under twenty pounds a week while his asylum claim was considered.

Refugee applicants now receive approximately forty-nine pounds a week - or £9.95 if they are in shelter which includes meals, according to Home Office policies.

"Honestly speaking, this isn't sufficient to maintain a dignified existence," explains the expert from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are largely prevented from employment, he believes many are open to being taken advantage of and are essentially "obligated to work in the black market for as low as three pounds per hour".

A spokesperson for the authorities said: "We do not apologize for denying refugee applicants the authorization to be employed - doing so would create an reason for people to come to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Asylum cases can take a long time to be processed with approximately a one-third requiring more than 12 months, according to government statistics from the spring this current year.

The reporter says working without authorization in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or mini-mart would have been extremely straightforward to accomplish, but he informed us he would not have engaged in that.

Nonetheless, he explains that those he encountered working in illegal mini-marts during his research seemed "confused", especially those whose refugee application has been denied and who were in the appeal stage.

"They used all their funds to travel to the United Kingdom, they had their asylum rejected and now they've lost all they had."

The other reporter concurs that these individuals seemed desperate.

"When [they] say you're prohibited to work - but simultaneously [you]