Why Our Team Went Covert to Expose Criminal Activity in the Kurdish Community

Two Kurdish men consented to work covertly to uncover a organization behind illegal High Street establishments because the criminals are damaging the image of Kurdish people in the United Kingdom, they say.

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

The team found that a Kurdish criminal operation was running mini-marts, hair salons and car washes across Britain, and sought to find out more about how it worked and who was taking part.

Equipped with hidden recording devices, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no right to work, looking to purchase and run a small shop from which to trade illegal cigarettes and vapes.

They were successful to uncover how easy it is for an individual in these circumstances to establish and run a commercial operation on the main street in public view. The individuals participating, we discovered, compensate Kurds who have UK citizenship to register the operations in their names, assisting to mislead the authorities.

Saman and Ali also were able to discreetly record one of those at the centre of the network, who claimed that he could remove official sanctions of up to sixty thousand pounds imposed on those employing illegal laborers.

"I sought to play a role in revealing these unlawful practices [...] to say that they do not characterize our community," states one reporter, a former refugee applicant himself. The reporter came to the UK illegally, having fled Kurdistan - a area that straddles the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not internationally recognised as a state - because his well-being was at danger.

The investigators recognize that disagreements over illegal immigration are significant in the United Kingdom and say they have both been worried that the inquiry could worsen hostilities.

But Ali explains that the unauthorized labor "damages the whole Kurdish population" and he considers obligated to "expose it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

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

He explains this especially affected him when he discovered that radical right campaigner Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom protest was taking place in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating secretly. Banners and flags could be spotted at the rally, displaying "we want our country back".

The reporters have both been tracking social media reaction to the investigation from within the Kurdish community and say it has generated significant anger for some. One Facebook comment they spotted said: "How can we identify and track [the undercover reporters] to attack them like dogs!"

Another urged their families in Kurdistan to be attacked.

They have also read claims that they were spies for the British authorities, and betrayers to fellow Kurds. "We are not informants, and we have no aim of damaging the Kurdish community," one reporter states. "Our goal is to reveal those who have compromised its reputation. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish-origin identity and deeply worried about the actions of such persons."

The majority of those applying for asylum say they are escaping politically motivated persecution, according to an expert from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a non-profit that helps asylum seekers and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the scenario for our undercover reporter one investigator, who, when he initially came to the United Kingdom, struggled for years. He says he had to live on under £20 a week while his refugee application was processed.

Refugee applicants now are provided about £49 a week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in housing which provides meals, according to government guidance.

"Honestly stating, this isn't adequate to sustain a acceptable existence," states the expert from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are generally prevented from employment, he believes many are open to being taken advantage of and are practically "obligated to labor in the illegal market for as low as £3 per hourly rate".

A spokesperson for the government department said: "The government do not apologize for refusing to grant refugee applicants the right to work - granting this would create an reason for people to travel to the United Kingdom illegally."

Asylum cases can take multiple years to be resolved with almost a one-third taking over 12 months, according to official data from the late March this current year.

Saman explains being employed without authorization in a car wash, barbershop or mini-mart would have been quite easy to accomplish, but he informed us he would not have engaged in that.

However, he explains that those he interviewed employed in illegal convenience stores during his research seemed "confused", notably those whose asylum claim has been refused and who were in the appeals process.

"These individuals used all their savings to come to the UK, they had their refugee application rejected and now they've lost everything."

The other reporter agrees that these individuals seemed in dire straits.

"If [they] say you're prohibited to be employed - but additionally [you]