Why We Chose to Go Covert to Reveal Crime in the Kurdish Community

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

The two, who we are calling Ali and Saman, are Kurdish reporters who have both lived lawfully in the UK for years.

The team uncovered that a Kurdish-linked criminal operation was operating convenience stores, hair salons and car washes throughout the United Kingdom, and aimed to learn more about how it functioned and who was taking part.

Armed with secret recording devices, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no authorization to work, seeking to buy and manage a mini-mart from which to sell illegal tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were able to reveal how simple it is for a person in these circumstances to start and manage a commercial operation on the High Street in public view. Those involved, we discovered, compensate Kurdish individuals who have UK residency to register the operations in their names, assisting to mislead the authorities.

Ali and Saman also were able to covertly record one of those at the heart of the operation, who stated that he could eliminate government sanctions of up to £60k encountered those employing unauthorized workers.

"I aimed to play a role in exposing these illegal activities [...] to declare that they do not characterize Kurdish people," states Saman, a ex- asylum seeker personally. Saman came to the country illegally, having escaped from the Kurdish region - a area that straddles the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not officially recognized as a country - because his life was at risk.

The investigators acknowledge that conflicts over illegal migration are high in the UK and say they have both been anxious that the probe could worsen tensions.

But Ali states that the illegal employment "harms the whole Kurdish-origin population" and he considers obligated to "bring it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Additionally, Ali mentions he was worried the publication could be exploited by the extreme right.

He says this notably struck him when he noticed that extreme right campaigner Tommy Robinson's national unity march was happening in London on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was working undercover. Signs and banners could be observed at the protest, reading "we demand our country back".

Both journalists have both been tracking social media response to the inquiry from inside the Kurdish-origin population and say it has generated intense anger for some. One social media post they found said: "In what way can we locate and locate [the undercover reporters] to harm them like animals!"

One more demanded their relatives in Kurdistan to be attacked.

They have also read accusations that they were informants for the UK government, and traitors to fellow Kurds. "We are not spies, and we have no aim of damaging the Kurdish community," one reporter says. "Our goal is to reveal those who have damaged its image. We are honored of our Kurdish-origin heritage and deeply troubled about the activities of such persons."

Most of those applying for asylum state they are escaping political persecution, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a organization that helps asylum seekers and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the case for our covert journalist one investigator, who, when he first came to the United Kingdom, experienced challenges for years. He says he had to survive on under £20 a per week while his asylum claim was considered.

Asylum seekers now are provided about £49 a week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in shelter which includes food, according to official guidance.

"Honestly speaking, this isn't sufficient to support a dignified existence," says Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because refugee applicants are largely restricted from employment, he thinks a significant number are susceptible to being exploited and are effectively "forced to work in the unofficial sector for as low as three pounds per hour".

A official for the government department commented: "We do not apologize for not granting asylum seekers the permission to work - granting this would generate an motivation for people to migrate to the UK without authorization."

Refugee cases can require multiple years to be resolved with approximately a one-third taking more than one year, according to government data from the late March this current year.

The reporter states working without authorization in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or mini-mart would have been quite simple to accomplish, but he told us he would not have participated in that.

Nevertheless, he states that those he interviewed employed in unauthorized convenience stores during his research seemed "confused", particularly those whose refugee application has been rejected and who were in the appeal stage.

"They expended all their savings to travel to the United Kingdom, they had their refugee application denied and now they've forfeited their entire investment."

Ali concurs that these individuals seemed desperate.

"When [they] state you're not allowed to be employed - but simultaneously [you]