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

Two Kurdish-background individuals agreed to operate secretly to reveal a organization behind unlawful main street businesses because the criminals are damaging the reputation of Kurds in the United Kingdom, they explain.

The two, who we are referring to as Ali and Saman, are Kurdish investigators who have both lived legally in the United Kingdom for a long time.

Investigators found that a Kurdish-linked illegal enterprise was running mini-marts, hair salons and vehicle cleaning services throughout the United Kingdom, and sought to learn more about how it worked and who was participating.

Equipped with secret recording devices, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no permission to work, attempting to purchase and run a small shop from which to distribute unlawful cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were able to discover how straightforward it is for an individual in these circumstances to set up and manage a commercial operation on the main street in plain sight. Those participating, we learned, pay Kurds who have British citizenship to legally establish the operations in their identities, assisting to deceive the officials.

Saman and Ali also were able to secretly record one of those at the core of the network, who claimed that he could eliminate official sanctions of up to £60,000 imposed on those employing illegal workers.

"I sought to play a role in uncovering these illegal practices [...] to declare that they don't speak for our community," says one reporter, a ex- refugee applicant himself. The reporter entered the United Kingdom illegally, having escaped from Kurdistan - a area that covers the boundaries of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not globally acknowledged as a state - because his life was at risk.

The investigators recognize that conflicts over unauthorized immigration are high in the United Kingdom and say they have both been anxious that the probe could inflame conflicts.

But the other reporter says that the illegal employment "damages the entire Kurdish-origin population" and he feels obligated to "expose it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Additionally, the journalist mentions he was worried the coverage could be seized upon by the radical right.

He states this notably impressed him when he noticed that radical right campaigner a prominent activist's national unity rally was occurring in London on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was working covertly. Banners and banners could be spotted at the protest, showing "we demand our country back".

Both journalists have both been observing online reaction to the exposé from inside the Kurdish-origin community and explain it has caused significant outrage for some. One social media message they found read: "In what way can we identify and locate [the undercover reporters] to attack them like animals!"

A different called for their families in the Kurdish region to be attacked.

They have also seen accusations that they were agents for the British authorities, and traitors to other Kurds. "We are not spies, and we have no aim of harming the Kurdish community," one reporter says. "Our aim is to reveal those who have compromised its standing. We are honored of our Kurdish heritage and deeply troubled about the behavior of such individuals."

The majority of those applying for refugee status say they are fleeing politically motivated oppression, according to an expert from the a charitable organization, a charity that helps refugees and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the case for our covert reporter one investigator, who, when he initially came to the United Kingdom, experienced challenges for many years. He explains he had to survive on less than £20 a week while his refugee application was processed.

Asylum seekers now get about forty-nine pounds a week - or £9.95 if they are in accommodation which offers meals, according to official policies.

"Practically speaking, this is not sufficient to maintain a acceptable lifestyle," states Mr Avicil from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are generally restricted from employment, he feels a significant number are vulnerable to being manipulated and are practically "compelled to labor in the illegal market for as low as £3 per hour".

A spokesperson for the Home Office stated: "The government make no apology for denying asylum seekers the right to be employed - granting this would generate an reason for people to come to the UK without authorization."

Refugee cases can require multiple years to be resolved with almost a one-third requiring more than one year, according to government statistics from the end of March this current year.

The reporter states working without authorization in a car wash, barbershop or mini-mart would have been quite easy to accomplish, but he informed the team he would not have engaged in that.

However, he states that those he encountered laboring in unauthorized mini-marts during his research seemed "lost", especially those whose asylum claim has been refused and who were in the appeals process.

"These individuals expended all of their money to travel to the UK, they had their refugee application denied and now they've forfeited their entire investment."

Ali agrees that these individuals seemed in dire straits.

"If [they] declare you're prohibited to be employed - but simultaneously [you]