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

Two Kurdish-background individuals agreed to go undercover to reveal a organization behind unlawful main street businesses because the lawbreakers are causing harm the image of Kurdish people in the United Kingdom, they say.

The pair, who we are calling Ali and Saman, are Kurdish journalists who have both resided legally in the United Kingdom for years.

The team discovered that a Kurdish crime network was managing convenience stores, barbershops and car washes the length of the UK, and sought to discover more about how it worked and who was involved.

Prepared with hidden cameras, Ali and Saman presented themselves as Kurdish asylum seekers with no permission to work, seeking to purchase and operate a convenience store from which to sell contraband cigarettes and vapes.

The investigators were able to uncover how simple it is for an individual in these circumstances to establish and manage a business on the High Street in full view. The individuals participating, we found, compensate Kurdish individuals who have UK citizenship to legally establish the operations in their names, assisting to fool the government agencies.

Ali and Saman also succeeded to covertly document one of those at the heart of the operation, who claimed that he could remove government penalties of up to £60,000 faced those hiring illegal employees.

"I sought to play a role in exposing these unlawful practices [...] to say that they do not characterize us," says Saman, a former refugee applicant himself. Saman entered the UK illegally, having fled the Kurdish region - a area that straddles the boundaries of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not officially recognized as a country - because his life was at threat.

The reporters recognize that tensions over unauthorized migration are elevated in the UK and say they have both been worried that the probe could intensify hostilities.

But the other reporter says that the illegal working "damages the whole Kurdish population" and he feels obligated to "bring it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Additionally, the journalist mentions he was worried the reporting could be seized upon by the extreme right.

He explains this notably affected him when he discovered that far-right activist Tommy Robinson's national unity march was happening in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was working covertly. Signs and banners could be observed at the gathering, displaying "we want our country back".

Saman and Ali have both been observing social media reaction to the inquiry from inside the Kurdish-origin community and explain it has caused intense anger for some. One social media post they observed read: "How can we identify and find [the undercover reporters] to attack them like dogs!"

A different called for their relatives in the Kurdish region to be harmed.

They have also seen accusations that they were informants for the UK government, and betrayers to fellow Kurdish people. "Both of us are not spies, and we have no aim of damaging the Kurdish population," Saman explains. "Our goal is to expose those who have damaged its image. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish identity and extremely worried about the actions of such individuals."

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

This was the scenario for our undercover reporter Saman, who, when he first arrived to the UK, struggled for years. He states he had to live on less than twenty pounds a per week while his asylum claim was processed.

Refugee applicants now get about £49 a week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in accommodation which includes food, according to official guidance.

"Honestly speaking, this is not adequate to maintain a dignified existence," states Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because asylum seekers are generally prohibited from employment, he feels numerous are open to being manipulated and are essentially "forced to labor in the unofficial economy for as low as £3 per hour".

A official for the authorities stated: "The government make no apology for denying refugee applicants the permission to be employed - granting this would establish an incentive for individuals to come to the UK without authorization."

Refugee applications can take a long time to be resolved with nearly a third requiring more than a year, according to government figures from the late March this year.

The reporter says being employed illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, hair salon or mini-mart would have been very easy to achieve, but he told us he would not have engaged in that.

However, he says that those he met employed in illegal convenience stores during his investigation seemed "confused", especially those whose refugee application has been rejected and who were in the appeal stage.

"These individuals spent their entire funds to travel to the UK, they had their refugee application refused and now they've sacrificed everything."

The other reporter agrees that these individuals seemed hopeless.

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