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

Two Kurdish-background individuals agreed to work covertly to expose a network behind illegal commercial businesses because the wrongdoers are negatively affecting the standing of Kurds in the United Kingdom, they explain.

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

The team discovered that a Kurdish illegal enterprise was operating convenience stores, barbershops and car washes throughout the UK, and wanted to learn more about how it operated and who was taking part.

Equipped with hidden recording devices, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no authorization to work, looking to buy and operate a small shop from which to sell unlawful tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were able to discover how simple it is for an individual in these situations to start and operate a business on the main street in full view. The individuals participating, we discovered, compensate Kurdish individuals who have British citizenship to legally establish the enterprises in their identities, helping to mislead the authorities.

Saman and Ali also succeeded to covertly film one of those at the core of the operation, who asserted that he could eliminate government fines of up to £60k encountered those employing unauthorized laborers.

"I wanted to participate in exposing these unlawful practices [...] to declare that they don't characterize Kurdish people," explains Saman, a ex- asylum seeker himself. The reporter came to the United Kingdom illegally, having fled Kurdistan - a area that straddles the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not officially recognized as a country - because his well-being was at risk.

The investigators recognize that tensions over illegal immigration are elevated in the United Kingdom and say they have both been worried that the inquiry could inflame hostilities.

But Ali says that the illegal employment "harms the entire Kurdish-origin community" and he considers obligated to "expose it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Separately, Ali mentions he was anxious the coverage could be seized upon by the far-right.

He states this especially affected him when he discovered that radical right activist a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom march was happening in London on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating secretly. Placards and banners could be spotted at the protest, reading "we want our nation back".

Both journalists have both been observing online feedback to the inquiry from inside the Kurdish population and report it has generated significant outrage for some. One social media comment they found stated: "How can we identify and track [the undercover reporters] to attack them like dogs!"

Another urged their families in the Kurdish region to be slaughtered.

They have also read accusations that they were informants for the UK authorities, and betrayers to other Kurds. "We are not informants, and we have no desire of harming the Kurdish population," Saman explains. "Our goal is to reveal those who have compromised its reputation. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish-origin heritage and profoundly troubled about the actions of such individuals."

Most of those seeking refugee status say they are fleeing politically motivated oppression, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a charitable organization, a non-profit that supports refugees and refugee applicants in the United Kingdom.

This was the situation for our undercover journalist one investigator, who, when he initially came to the UK, faced difficulties for many years. He says he had to live on less than £20 a week while his asylum claim was processed.

Refugee applicants now receive approximately forty-nine pounds a week - or £9.95 if they are in accommodation which provides food, according to official regulations.

"Honestly saying, this isn't sufficient to maintain a acceptable existence," explains the expert from the the organization.

Because refugee applicants are generally prevented from employment, he thinks a significant number are susceptible to being taken advantage of and are essentially "obligated to labor in the black sector for as low as £3 per hour".

A representative for the authorities commented: "The government are unapologetic for denying asylum seekers the permission to work - doing so would generate an reason for people to come to the UK illegally."

Asylum applications can require years to be resolved with almost a one-third taking over 12 months, according to government figures from the late March this current year.

The reporter says being employed without authorization in a car wash, barbershop or mini-mart would have been quite straightforward to achieve, but he informed us he would not have done that.

However, he explains that those he interviewed laboring in illegal convenience stores during his investigation seemed "lost", particularly those whose asylum claim has been rejected and who were in the legal challenge.

"They expended all of their funds to migrate to the UK, they had their asylum refused and now they've lost all they had."

The other reporter concurs that these people seemed hopeless.

"When [they] say you're forbidden to work - but additionally [you]