Why Our Team Chose to Go Covert to Expose Crime in the Kurdish-origin Community

A pair of Kurdish men consented to go undercover to expose a network behind unlawful High Street enterprises because the criminals are negatively affecting the standing of Kurds in the Britain, they say.

The pair, who we are referring to as Ali and Saman, are Kurdish reporters who have both resided lawfully in the UK for a long time.

The team uncovered that a Kurdish criminal operation was running small shops, barbershops and car washes throughout the UK, and sought to learn more about how it functioned and who was taking part.

Equipped with hidden cameras, Ali and Saman presented themselves as Kurdish asylum seekers with no permission to be employed, attempting to acquire and run a small shop from which to distribute illegal tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were successful to discover how easy it is for someone in these situations to start and manage a business on the main street in public view. Those participating, we learned, pay Kurds who have UK citizenship to legally establish the enterprises in their names, helping to fool the authorities.

Ali and Saman also succeeded to discreetly document one of those at the core of the operation, who stated that he could eliminate official penalties of up to £60,000 imposed on those using illegal employees.

"I wanted to participate in uncovering these unlawful operations [...] to declare that they do not speak for our community," explains Saman, a ex- asylum seeker himself. The reporter came to the country illegally, having fled Kurdistan - a region that straddles the borders of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not officially recognized as a state - because his safety was at danger.

The journalists admit that tensions over unauthorized immigration are significant in the United Kingdom and state they have both been anxious that the inquiry could inflame hostilities.

But the other reporter states that the unauthorized employment "negatively affects the entire Kurdish population" and he believes obligated to "bring it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Additionally, the journalist says he was worried the publication could be used by the extreme right.

He says this especially impressed him when he noticed that extreme right activist Tommy Robinson's national unity march was taking place in the capital on one of the weekends he was working secretly. Banners and banners could be seen at the protest, displaying "we want our country back".

The reporters have both been monitoring online reaction to the investigation from within the Kurdish-origin population and say it has sparked intense anger for some. One social media comment they spotted stated: "How can we identify and locate [the undercover reporters] to attack them like dogs!"

One more called for their families in Kurdistan to be attacked.

They have also read claims that they were agents for the UK authorities, and betrayers to fellow Kurds. "We are not spies, and we have no intention of damaging the Kurdish-origin community," one reporter states. "Our aim is to expose those who have harmed its image. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish heritage and deeply concerned about the activities of such people."

Most of those applying for asylum claim they are escaping politically motivated discrimination, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a non-profit that helps asylum seekers and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the scenario for our covert reporter Saman, who, when he first came to the United Kingdom, faced difficulties for years. He says he had to live on under twenty pounds a per week while his refugee application was processed.

Asylum seekers now are provided about forty-nine pounds a per week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in housing which provides food, according to official guidance.

"Honestly stating, this is not enough to maintain a acceptable life," states the expert from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are mostly restricted from working, he thinks numerous are susceptible to being manipulated and are essentially "obligated to work in the illegal sector for as little as three pounds per hour".

A representative for the government department commented: "The government are unapologetic for denying asylum seekers the right to be employed - doing so would create an incentive for individuals to come to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Refugee cases can take multiple years to be processed with nearly a third taking more than 12 months, according to government data from the end of March this year.

Saman explains working illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or mini-mart would have been very straightforward to accomplish, but he explained to the team he would never have done that.

Nonetheless, he says that those he met employed in unauthorized mini-marts during his work seemed "disoriented", especially those whose refugee application has been denied and who were in the appeal stage.

"These individuals used all their funds to travel to the UK, they had their asylum denied and now they've forfeited their entire investment."

Ali agrees that these people seemed hopeless.

"When [they] declare you're not allowed to be employed - but also [you]