Why We Chose to Go Covert to Reveal Criminal Activity in the Kurdish Community

Two Kurdish men agreed to work covertly to uncover a network behind illegal main street businesses because the wrongdoers are negatively affecting the standing of Kurds in the United Kingdom, they explain.

The pair, who we are referring to as Ali and Saman, are Kurdish investigators who have both lived lawfully in the UK for years.

The team discovered that a Kurdish-linked crime network was running mini-marts, hair salons and vehicle cleaning services across Britain, and wanted to learn more about how it operated and who was involved.

Prepared with secret cameras, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no authorization to be employed, attempting to acquire and manage a mini-mart from which to trade unlawful tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

They were able to reveal how simple it is for someone in these circumstances to set up and run a business on the main street in full view. The individuals participating, we found, compensate Kurds who have UK residency to register the enterprises in their names, assisting to deceive the officials.

Ali and Saman also succeeded to covertly document one of those at the centre of the organization, who claimed that he could remove official penalties of up to £60,000 encountered those hiring illegal laborers.

"I sought to contribute in uncovering these unlawful practices [...] to declare that they don't represent us," states Saman, a former refugee applicant personally. The reporter came to the UK illegally, having escaped from Kurdistan - a area that covers the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not internationally recognised as a state - because his life was at threat.

The reporters acknowledge that conflicts over illegal migration are high in the UK and explain they have both been concerned that the probe could worsen tensions.

But the other reporter states that the unauthorized working "harms the entire Kurdish-origin community" and he believes compelled to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Additionally, the journalist explains he was concerned the reporting could be exploited by the radical right.

He explains this especially struck him when he discovered that extreme right activist Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom protest was happening in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating secretly. Signs and flags could be seen at the rally, displaying "we want our country back".

Both journalists have both been observing social media reaction to the investigation from inside the Kurdish-origin community and explain it has sparked significant outrage for some. One social media post they observed stated: "How can we find and find [the undercover reporters] to kill them like animals!"

Another demanded their families in Kurdistan to be harmed.

They have also read claims that they were agents for the UK authorities, and traitors to other Kurds. "We are not spies, and we have no desire of harming the Kurdish-origin community," one reporter says. "Our aim is to expose those who have damaged its image. We are proud of our Kurdish heritage and profoundly concerned about the behavior of such persons."

The majority of those seeking refugee status say they are escaping politically motivated oppression, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a charity that supports refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the scenario for our undercover journalist one investigator, who, when he first came to the UK, experienced challenges for many years. He explains he had to survive on under £20 a week while his refugee application was reviewed.

Asylum seekers now get approximately forty-nine pounds a week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in accommodation which provides meals, according to government policies.

"Realistically stating, this isn't sufficient to maintain a dignified life," explains Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because asylum seekers are generally prevented from working, he feels a significant number are susceptible to being exploited and are effectively "forced to work in the unofficial market for as low as £3 per hourly rate".

A representative for the authorities stated: "The government do not apologize for refusing to grant refugee applicants the authorization to be employed - doing so would generate an reason for people to travel to the United Kingdom illegally."

Asylum applications can take years to be resolved with nearly a one-third taking over a year, according to official statistics from the late March this current year.

The reporter says working illegally in a car wash, barbershop or mini-mart would have been extremely easy to accomplish, but he told us he would not have participated in that.

Nevertheless, he says that those he encountered laboring in illegal convenience stores during his research seemed "confused", especially those whose asylum claim has been refused and who were in the legal challenge.

"They used all their money to migrate to the UK, they had their asylum refused and now they've sacrificed all they had."

The other reporter agrees that these individuals seemed desperate.

"When [they] say you're forbidden to be employed - but simultaneously [you]