Why We Went Covert to Expose Criminal Activity in the Kurdish-origin Community

Two Kurdish-background individuals decided to work covertly to reveal a organization behind illegal High Street establishments because the criminals are negatively affecting the standing of Kurds in the Britain, they say.

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

Investigators found that a Kurdish illegal enterprise was operating small shops, barbershops and car washes the length of the UK, and sought to learn more about how it functioned and who was involved.

Armed with hidden cameras, Ali and Saman posed as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no permission to work, attempting to buy and operate a convenience store from which to sell contraband tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were able to reveal how simple it is for someone in these situations to start and operate a business on the commercial area in full view. Those involved, we found, pay Kurdish individuals who have UK citizenship to legally establish the operations in their names, helping to mislead the officials.

Saman and Ali also succeeded to secretly record one of those at the core of the organization, who asserted that he could remove government sanctions of up to £60,000 encountered those employing illegal laborers.

"I wanted to play a role in revealing these unlawful operations [...] to loudly proclaim that they don't characterize us," says one reporter, a former asylum seeker himself. The reporter came to the UK without authorization, having fled Kurdistan - a territory that covers the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not officially recognized as a nation - because his safety was at threat.

The investigators acknowledge that conflicts over illegal migration are high in the United Kingdom and state they have both been anxious that the investigation could intensify tensions.

But Ali states that the unauthorized employment "damages the entire Kurdish community" and he considers compelled to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Furthermore, Ali explains he was anxious the publication could be seized upon by the radical right.

He explains this particularly impressed him when he realized that extreme right activist Tommy Robinson's national unity rally was taking place in the capital on one of the weekends he was operating secretly. Signs and banners could be seen at the gathering, displaying "we want our nation returned".

The reporters have both been tracking social media reaction to the inquiry from within the Kurdish-origin community and explain it has caused significant frustration for certain individuals. One social media message they observed read: "In what way can we identify and find [the undercover reporters] to attack them like animals!"

Another called for their families in the Kurdish region to be attacked.

They have also encountered allegations that they were spies for the UK government, and traitors to fellow Kurds. "Both of us are not spies, and we have no aim of hurting the Kurdish population," one reporter says. "Our objective is to expose those who have harmed its image. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish-origin identity and extremely concerned about the actions of such persons."

The majority of those applying for asylum state they are escaping politically motivated discrimination, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a organization that helps refugees and asylum seekers in the United Kingdom.

This was the case for our covert reporter one investigator, who, when he initially came to the UK, experienced challenges for many years. He explains he had to live on under £20 a per week while his refugee application was considered.

Refugee applicants now receive about forty-nine pounds a per week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in shelter which provides food, according to Home Office regulations.

"Practically saying, this is not sufficient to sustain a acceptable lifestyle," explains Mr Avicil from the RWCA.

Because asylum seekers are mostly restricted from employment, he feels numerous are susceptible to being manipulated and are essentially "forced to labor in the black sector for as low as £3 per hour".

A representative for the government department commented: "The government do not apologize for denying refugee applicants the permission to be employed - granting this would create an reason for people to come to the United Kingdom illegally."

Refugee cases can take a long time to be resolved with approximately a third taking more than 12 months, according to official statistics from the end of March this current year.

Saman says being employed without authorization in a car wash, hair salon or mini-mart would have been extremely straightforward to do, but he informed us he would not have done that.

Nonetheless, he explains that those he met employed in illegal mini-marts during his investigation seemed "lost", especially those whose refugee application has been refused and who were in the appeal stage.

"They spent their entire funds to come to the United Kingdom, they had their asylum denied and now they've sacrificed everything."

Ali concurs that these individuals seemed in dire straits.

"When [they] state you're forbidden to work - but simultaneously [you]