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

A pair of Kurdish-background individuals consented to operate secretly to reveal a operation behind unlawful main street enterprises because the criminals are causing harm the image of Kurdish people in the Britain, they say.

The pair, who we are calling Saman and Ali, are Kurdish-origin investigators who have both lived lawfully in the UK for a long time.

The team discovered that a Kurdish crime network was managing small shops, barbershops and vehicle cleaning services throughout Britain, and aimed to find out more about how it operated and who was participating.

Prepared with secret cameras, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no authorization to work, looking to buy and manage a mini-mart from which to sell contraband tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

They were successful to uncover how straightforward it is for someone in these situations to set up and operate a business on the High Street in public view. The individuals participating, we found, pay Kurdish individuals who have British citizenship to legally establish the operations in their identities, helping to mislead the authorities.

Ali and Saman also succeeded to discreetly record one of those at the heart of the network, who stated that he could eliminate government penalties of up to £60k imposed on those hiring illegal laborers.

"Personally sought to participate in uncovering these unlawful operations [...] to say that they don't speak for our community," states Saman, a ex- refugee applicant personally. Saman came to the country without authorization, having escaped from the Kurdish region - a region that spans the borders of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not internationally recognised as a state - because his safety was at risk.

The investigators recognize that disagreements over illegal immigration are significant in the United Kingdom and explain they have both been worried that the investigation could inflame hostilities.

But the other reporter says that the unauthorized working "damages the whole Kurdish-origin population" and he feels compelled to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Furthermore, the journalist says he was worried the reporting could be used by the far-right.

He states this particularly impressed him when he realized that radical right activist a prominent activist's national unity protest was occurring in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating undercover. Signs and flags could be seen at the protest, reading "we demand our nation back".

Both journalists have both been monitoring online response to the exposé from within the Kurdish population and explain it has sparked significant anger for certain individuals. One Facebook message they observed said: "How can we identify and find [the undercover reporters] to kill them like dogs!"

Another urged their families in the Kurdish region to be slaughtered.

They have also encountered allegations that they were spies for the UK government, and betrayers to fellow Kurds. "Both of us are not spies, and we have no aim of harming the Kurdish population," one reporter states. "Our objective is to uncover those who have damaged its image. We are honored of our Kurdish heritage and profoundly troubled about the activities of such people."

Most of those applying for asylum say they are escaping politically motivated persecution, according to an expert from the a refugee support organization, a charity that supports refugees and asylum seekers in the United Kingdom.

This was the case for our covert journalist one investigator, who, when he initially came to the UK, faced difficulties for many years. He explains he had to live on under £20 a week while his refugee application was reviewed.

Refugee applicants now are provided approximately £49 a per week - or £9.95 if they are in housing which provides food, according to Home Office regulations.

"Honestly saying, this is not enough to maintain a dignified life," explains Mr Avicil from the RWCA.

Because asylum seekers are mostly prevented from employment, he thinks a significant number are vulnerable to being exploited and are effectively "compelled to work in the unofficial market for as little as £3 per hourly rate".

A spokesperson for the government department commented: "The government are unapologetic for denying asylum seekers the authorization to be employed - granting this would establish an motivation for people to travel to the United Kingdom illegally."

Asylum applications can require a long time to be processed with almost a 33% requiring over 12 months, according to official statistics from the late March this current year.

The reporter says being employed without authorization in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or mini-mart would have been quite straightforward to accomplish, but he told the team he would never have participated in that.

Nevertheless, he says that those he interviewed employed in unauthorized mini-marts during his investigation seemed "confused", notably those whose refugee application has been denied and who were in the appeals process.

"These individuals expended all their funds to travel to the United Kingdom, they had their asylum refused and now they've sacrificed everything."

Ali acknowledges that these people seemed desperate.

"When [they] declare you're forbidden to be employed - but also [you]