Why Our Team Went Covert to Expose Crime in the Kurdish-origin Population

A pair of Kurdish men consented to operate secretly to uncover a network behind illegal High Street establishments because the lawbreakers are damaging the reputation of Kurds in the United Kingdom, they say.

The two, who we are calling Ali and Saman, are Kurdish journalists who have both lived legally in the United Kingdom for many years.

The team uncovered that a Kurdish-linked crime network was managing mini-marts, barbershops and car washes throughout the UK, and sought to find out more about how it worked and who was taking part.

Equipped with covert cameras, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish asylum seekers with no right to work, attempting to purchase and operate a convenience store from which to sell unlawful tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

They were able to discover how easy it is for someone in these situations to set up and operate a business on the main street in full view. The individuals involved, we found, compensate Kurds who have British citizenship to legally establish the enterprises in their identities, enabling to mislead the government agencies.

Ali and Saman also succeeded to covertly document one of those at the core of the network, who claimed that he could remove official fines of up to £60k faced those hiring unauthorized employees.

"Personally aimed to participate in uncovering these illegal operations [...] to loudly proclaim that they do not characterize our community," explains Saman, a former refugee applicant personally. Saman entered the United Kingdom without authorization, having fled the Kurdish region - a area that straddles the borders of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not internationally recognised as a nation - because his life was at risk.

The investigators admit that disagreements over illegal migration are high in the United Kingdom and explain they have both been worried that the probe could intensify hostilities.

But Ali explains that the illegal working "negatively affects the whole Kurdish-origin population" and he believes compelled to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Additionally, the journalist says he was worried the reporting could be exploited by the radical right.

He says this particularly impressed him when he noticed that far-right activist a prominent activist's national unity rally was occurring in London on one of the weekends he was working undercover. Placards and flags could be seen at the rally, showing "we demand our nation returned".

Both journalists have both been monitoring social media feedback to the investigation from inside the Kurdish-origin community and say it has caused significant outrage for certain individuals. One Facebook post they found read: "In what way can we find and find [the undercover reporters] to kill them like dogs!"

Another demanded their relatives in the Kurdish region to be harmed.

They have also encountered allegations that they were agents for the UK authorities, and betrayers to fellow Kurds. "We are not informants, and we have no desire of harming the Kurdish population," Saman says. "Our goal is to uncover those who have harmed its reputation. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish identity and deeply troubled about the actions of such people."

Most of those seeking refugee status state they are fleeing politically motivated persecution, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a refugee support organization, a non-profit that supports asylum seekers and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the situation for our covert journalist Saman, who, when he first arrived to the United Kingdom, experienced challenges for years. He says he had to survive on less than £20 a week while his asylum claim was processed.

Refugee applicants now are provided approximately forty-nine pounds a week - or £9.95 if they are in accommodation which includes food, according to Home Office guidance.

"Honestly speaking, this is not sufficient to sustain a dignified life," states the expert from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are mostly prevented from working, he thinks numerous are vulnerable to being manipulated and are practically "obligated to work in the illegal economy for as low as three pounds per hourly rate".

A spokesperson for the authorities commented: "The government are unapologetic for not granting refugee applicants the right to work - granting this would create an motivation for people to come to the UK illegally."

Asylum cases can take a long time to be processed with nearly a 33% taking more than a year, according to official figures from the late March this year.

Saman says being employed without authorization in a car wash, hair salon or mini-mart would have been quite simple to do, but he informed the team he would never have participated in that.

However, he says that those he interviewed employed in illegal convenience stores during his research seemed "disoriented", particularly those whose asylum claim has been refused and who were in the legal challenge.

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

The other reporter agrees that these people seemed desperate.

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