Why Our Team Went Covert to Uncover Crime in the Kurdish Community

A pair of Kurdish-background men consented to operate secretly to reveal a operation behind illegal High Street establishments because the criminals are damaging the image of Kurdish people in the Britain, they state.

The pair, who we are calling Ali and Saman, are Kurdish-origin reporters who have both lived legally in the United Kingdom for many years.

Investigators found that a Kurdish-linked criminal operation was managing small shops, barbershops and car washes throughout the UK, and aimed to discover more about how it worked and who was taking part.

Prepared with hidden recording devices, Ali and Saman presented themselves as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no permission to be employed, looking to acquire and manage a convenience store from which to trade illegal tobacco products and vapes.

The investigators were able to uncover how simple it is for someone in these conditions to start and manage a enterprise on the main street in plain sight. Those participating, we learned, pay Kurds who have British citizenship to register the businesses in their identities, enabling to deceive the government agencies.

Saman and Ali also succeeded to secretly film one of those at the core of the operation, who asserted that he could erase official sanctions of up to sixty thousand pounds imposed on those using illegal employees.

"Personally wanted to contribute in exposing these illegal practices [...] to loudly proclaim that they do not represent us," states Saman, a former refugee applicant personally. The reporter came to the UK without authorization, having fled the Kurdish region - a territory that covers the borders of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not internationally recognised as a country - because his life was at risk.

The reporters acknowledge that disagreements over illegal immigration are high in the UK and say they have both been concerned that the probe could inflame conflicts.

But the other reporter explains that the unauthorized working "harms the whole Kurdish-origin population" and he believes obligated to "expose it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Additionally, the journalist mentions he was concerned the publication could be used by the extreme right.

He states this notably struck him when he discovered that extreme right activist a prominent activist's national unity march was taking place in London on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating secretly. Signs and flags could be spotted at the rally, displaying "we demand our country returned".

Both journalists have both been monitoring social media response to the investigation from inside the Kurdish-origin community and report it has sparked significant outrage for certain individuals. One Facebook post they spotted read: "How can we identify and track [the undercover reporters] to kill them like dogs!"

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

They have also encountered accusations that they were agents for the British government, and betrayers to other Kurds. "We are not spies, and we have no intention of damaging the Kurdish-origin population," Saman states. "Our aim is to uncover those who have compromised its standing. We are honored of our Kurdish-origin heritage and extremely troubled about the activities of such people."

The majority of those seeking refugee status state they are fleeing politically motivated persecution, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a non-profit that assists refugees and refugee applicants in the United Kingdom.

This was the case for our undercover reporter one investigator, who, when he initially came to the United Kingdom, experienced challenges for many years. He says he had to live on under twenty pounds 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 housing which includes meals, according to official policies.

"Honestly stating, this isn't sufficient to support a respectable existence," says the expert from the RWCA.

Because asylum seekers are mostly prevented from working, he thinks a significant number are open to being exploited and are essentially "obligated to work in the black sector for as low as £3 per hour".

A spokesperson for the authorities commented: "The government make no apology for not granting refugee applicants the authorization to work - granting this would generate an reason for people to travel to the UK without authorization."

Refugee applications can take a long time to be resolved with approximately a one-third requiring more than a year, according to government figures from the late March this current year.

The reporter says being employed illegally in a car wash, hair salon or mini-mart would have been quite straightforward to do, but he told the team he would not have done that.

However, he says that those he encountered laboring in illegal convenience stores during his investigation seemed "lost", particularly those whose refugee application has been denied and who were in the appeal stage.

"These individuals spent all of their funds to migrate to the United Kingdom, they had their asylum denied and now they've lost everything."

The other reporter concurs that these individuals seemed hopeless.

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