The Reasons We Went Undercover to Expose Criminal Activity in the Kurdish Population

A pair of Kurdish individuals consented to work covertly to reveal a network behind unlawful commercial establishments because the criminals are negatively affecting the standing of Kurdish people in the UK, 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.

Investigators uncovered that a Kurdish-linked crime network was managing mini-marts, barbershops and car washes across the UK, and aimed to discover more about how it operated and who was taking part.

Prepared with covert cameras, Ali and Saman posed as Kurdish asylum seekers with no authorization to work, looking to acquire and run a small shop from which to sell contraband tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were able to discover how simple it is for someone in these situations to establish and run a commercial operation on the main street in full view. The individuals involved, we learned, pay Kurdish individuals who have British citizenship to legally establish the businesses in their identities, enabling to fool the authorities.

Ali and Saman also managed to covertly film one of those at the centre of the network, who stated that he could eliminate government fines of up to sixty thousand pounds imposed on those hiring illegal employees.

"Personally sought to contribute in uncovering these illegal activities [...] to loudly proclaim that they don't speak for Kurdish people," states one reporter, a former asylum seeker personally. The reporter came to the United Kingdom without authorization, having escaped from the Kurdish region - a area that covers the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not internationally recognised as a country - because his well-being was at danger.

The journalists recognize that tensions over illegal immigration are high in the UK and say they have both been worried that the investigation could worsen conflicts.

But Ali states that the illegal labor "negatively affects the entire Kurdish community" and he considers driven to "expose it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Separately, the journalist explains he was anxious the reporting could be exploited by the far-right.

He states this notably impressed him when he realized that far-right activist Tommy Robinson's national unity march was taking place in London on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating undercover. Placards and banners could be observed at the protest, reading "we want our nation returned".

Saman and Ali have both been monitoring social media reaction to the inquiry from within the Kurdish population and report it has sparked strong anger for certain individuals. One Facebook post they spotted stated: "In what way can we locate and find [the undercover reporters] to attack them like dogs!"

One more urged their families in Kurdistan to be attacked.

They have also read claims that they were informants for the UK authorities, and betrayers to other Kurds. "We are not informants, and we have no intention of harming the Kurdish-origin community," one reporter states. "Our objective is to uncover those who have damaged its image. We are proud of our Kurdish-origin heritage and deeply troubled about the behavior of such persons."

The majority of those applying for refugee status state they are escaping political oppression, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a non-profit that supports refugees and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the situation for our covert journalist Saman, who, when he first came to the United Kingdom, struggled for years. He states he had to survive on less than twenty pounds a per week while his refugee application was processed.

Refugee applicants now are provided approximately forty-nine pounds a week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in housing which offers meals, according to official regulations.

"Realistically speaking, this isn't adequate to maintain a respectable lifestyle," says Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because asylum seekers are largely prevented from employment, he thinks numerous are susceptible to being taken advantage of and are practically "compelled to labor in the illegal market for as low as three pounds per hourly rate".

A official for the Home Office said: "We do not apologize for refusing to grant asylum seekers the right to be employed - granting this would create an motivation for people to travel to the UK illegally."

Refugee applications can require years to be decided with approximately a 33% requiring more than a year, according to official data from the late March this year.

Saman says being employed illegally in a car wash, hair salon or convenience store would have been extremely easy to achieve, but he informed the team he would never have participated in that.

Nonetheless, he explains that those he encountered working in unauthorized mini-marts during his work seemed "lost", notably those whose refugee application has been refused and who were in the appeal stage.

"These individuals spent their entire money to travel to the United Kingdom, they had their refugee application refused and now they've forfeited everything."

The other reporter concurs that these individuals seemed desperate.

"When [they] say you're forbidden to work - but also [you]