Why We Chose to Go Undercover to Reveal Crime in the Kurdish Community

Two Kurdish individuals consented to go undercover to uncover a organization behind unlawful commercial enterprises because the lawbreakers are damaging the standing of Kurds in the United Kingdom, they say.

The pair, who we are referring to as Ali and Saman, are Kurdish-origin reporters who have both resided lawfully in the United Kingdom for many years.

The team uncovered that a Kurdish-linked criminal operation was managing convenience stores, hair salons and car washes the length of Britain, and sought to find out more about how it worked and who was participating.

Armed with secret recording devices, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no authorization to be employed, seeking to purchase and manage a mini-mart from which to sell illegal tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were successful to reveal how easy it is for a person in these circumstances to start and manage a commercial operation on the commercial area in public view. The individuals participating, we found, pay Kurdish individuals who have UK residency to legally establish the businesses in their names, helping to fool the officials.

Saman and Ali also succeeded to secretly record one of those at the centre of the organization, who claimed that he could erase government fines of up to £60k encountered those hiring illegal workers.

"Personally aimed to play a role in exposing these unlawful practices [...] to declare that they don't speak for us," explains one reporter, a ex- refugee applicant himself. Saman entered the United Kingdom illegally, having fled the Kurdish region - a territory that spans the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not globally acknowledged as a nation - because his well-being was at danger.

The reporters admit that conflicts over unauthorized immigration are high in the United Kingdom and say they have both been anxious that the inquiry could inflame hostilities.

But the other reporter says that the unauthorized labor "negatively affects the entire Kurdish-origin population" and he feels compelled to "expose it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Additionally, Ali explains he was concerned the coverage could be exploited by the extreme right.

He says this especially impressed him when he discovered that radical right campaigner Tommy Robinson's national unity protest was happening in London on one of the weekends he was working covertly. Banners and banners could be observed at the gathering, showing "we want our nation back".

Both journalists have both been tracking social media reaction to the exposé from inside the Kurdish-origin population and explain it has sparked significant outrage for certain individuals. One social media post they spotted said: "In what way can we find and track [the undercover reporters] to attack them like animals!"

A different demanded their relatives in Kurdistan to be harmed.

They have also encountered accusations that they were agents for the British government, and betrayers to fellow Kurdish people. "We are not informants, and we have no intention of harming the Kurdish population," one reporter states. "Our goal is to uncover those who have compromised its reputation. We are honored of our Kurdish heritage and profoundly troubled about the actions of such people."

Most of those seeking asylum claim they are fleeing political oppression, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a refugee support organization, a charity that supports asylum seekers and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the case for our covert journalist Saman, who, when he first arrived to the UK, faced difficulties for many years. He explains he had to survive on under twenty pounds a week while his asylum claim was processed.

Refugee applicants now receive approximately forty-nine pounds a week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in housing which offers meals, according to Home Office guidance.

"Realistically speaking, this is not enough to maintain a acceptable life," states the expert from the the organization.

Because refugee applicants are largely prohibited from working, he thinks a significant number are susceptible to being taken advantage of and are effectively "compelled to labor in the unofficial economy for as low as £3 per hourly rate".

A representative for the government department stated: "We do not apologize for refusing to grant asylum seekers the authorization to be employed - doing so would generate an reason for people to travel to the UK without authorization."

Refugee cases can require a long time to be resolved with almost a 33% requiring more than one year, according to government data from the late March this current year.

The reporter states working without authorization in a car wash, barbershop or mini-mart would have been extremely simple to do, but he informed us he would never have done that.

Nevertheless, he explains that those he encountered laboring in illegal mini-marts during his work seemed "disoriented", especially those whose asylum claim has been refused and who were in the appeals process.

"They expended all of their funds to come to the UK, they had their asylum denied and now they've forfeited their entire investment."

Ali concurs that these individuals seemed hopeless.

"If [they] say you're not allowed to work - but additionally [you]