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

Two Kurdish men consented to go undercover to reveal a organization behind illegal High Street establishments because the lawbreakers are damaging the reputation of Kurds in the United Kingdom, they explain.

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

The team uncovered that a Kurdish-linked illegal enterprise was operating small shops, barbershops and car washes throughout the UK, and wanted to find out more about how it functioned and who was taking part.

Equipped with covert cameras, Ali and Saman presented themselves as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no permission to work, looking to buy and manage a small shop from which to distribute unlawful cigarettes and vapes.

The investigators were able to reveal how straightforward it is for a person in these situations to start and operate a commercial operation on the commercial area in public view. The individuals involved, we found, pay Kurdish individuals who have British citizenship to register the enterprises in their identities, enabling to fool the officials.

Saman and Ali also succeeded to covertly document one of those at the centre of the network, who asserted that he could remove official fines of up to £60k encountered those employing illegal employees.

"I aimed to play a role in revealing these unlawful practices [...] to say that they don't speak for our community," says one reporter, a ex- asylum seeker personally. The reporter entered the country without authorization, having escaped from the Kurdish region - a area that spans the borders of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not officially recognized as a state - because his life was at threat.

The journalists recognize that disagreements over illegal immigration are high in the UK and say they have both been concerned that the investigation could intensify tensions.

But Ali explains that the unauthorized employment "harms the entire Kurdish population" and he feels obligated to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Furthermore, the journalist explains he was concerned the reporting could be seized upon by the far-right.

He states this notably affected him when he discovered that far-right activist Tommy Robinson's national unity rally was happening in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was working secretly. Banners and banners could be spotted at the gathering, displaying "we demand our nation back".

The reporters have both been monitoring social media feedback to the inquiry from within the Kurdish population and report it has generated significant anger for certain individuals. One social media comment they observed read: "In what way can we identify and track [the undercover reporters] to kill them like animals!"

A different demanded their families in the Kurdish region to be slaughtered.

They have also encountered claims that they were informants for the British authorities, and betrayers to fellow Kurdish people. "Both of us are not spies, and we have no desire of damaging the Kurdish population," one reporter states. "Our aim is to reveal those who have harmed its image. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish-origin identity and extremely concerned about the behavior of such people."

The majority of those seeking refugee status say they are fleeing politically motivated oppression, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a refugee support organization, a charity that helps asylum seekers and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the case for our covert journalist one investigator, who, when he initially came to the United Kingdom, struggled for many years. He states he had to live on less than twenty pounds a per week while his asylum claim was processed.

Asylum seekers now receive about forty-nine pounds a week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in housing which offers meals, according to Home Office regulations.

"Honestly stating, this isn't enough to maintain a acceptable existence," explains the expert from the RWCA.

Because asylum seekers are mostly prohibited from working, he thinks a significant number are vulnerable to being taken advantage of and are effectively "obligated to work in the illegal economy for as low as £3 per hour".

A official for the government department said: "The government make no apology for refusing to grant refugee applicants the right to work - granting this would establish an reason for individuals to travel to the UK without authorization."

Asylum applications can require years to be decided with nearly a third taking more than 12 months, according to government figures from the spring this year.

Saman explains being employed illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, hair salon or convenience store would have been quite straightforward to accomplish, but he informed the team he would never have done that.

Nevertheless, he states that those he interviewed working in unauthorized convenience stores during his research seemed "lost", especially those whose asylum claim has been refused and who were in the appeals process.

"They used all of their funds to travel to the United Kingdom, they had their refugee application denied and now they've forfeited all they had."

Ali acknowledges that these people seemed desperate.

"If [they] state you're not allowed to be employed - but also [you]