Why Our Team Went Covert to Expose Crime in the Kurdish-origin Population

A pair of Kurdish individuals decided to operate secretly to uncover a network behind illegal commercial businesses because the wrongdoers are causing harm the reputation of Kurdish people in the United Kingdom, they explain.

The two, who we are calling Saman and Ali, are Kurdish reporters who have both resided legally in the UK for a long time.

Investigators found that a Kurdish-linked crime network was running convenience stores, barbershops and car washes throughout the United Kingdom, and sought to discover more about how it functioned and who was participating.

Equipped with covert cameras, Ali and Saman posed as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no right to be employed, looking to purchase and manage a convenience store from which to distribute contraband tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

They were able to uncover how easy it is for an individual in these circumstances to start and manage a enterprise on the commercial area in public view. The individuals involved, we discovered, compensate Kurdish individuals who have British citizenship to register the enterprises in their names, enabling to deceive the officials.

Ali and Saman also managed to covertly document one of those at the centre of the operation, who asserted that he could eliminate official penalties of up to sixty thousand pounds faced those using unauthorized workers.

"I wanted to play a role in revealing these unlawful operations [...] to loudly proclaim that they do not represent our community," says Saman, a ex- asylum seeker personally. The reporter entered the United Kingdom without authorization, having escaped from the Kurdish region - a area that spans the boundaries of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not internationally recognised as a country - because his life was at risk.

The journalists admit that conflicts over unauthorized migration are high in the United Kingdom and say they have both been anxious that the investigation could intensify conflicts.

But Ali explains that the illegal working "harms the entire Kurdish community" and he believes compelled to "bring it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Additionally, Ali mentions he was concerned the reporting could be used by the radical right.

He says this especially struck him when he noticed that extreme right activist Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom protest was occurring in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was working covertly. Placards and flags could be seen at the rally, showing "we want our country returned".

Both journalists have both been observing social media response to the investigation from inside the Kurdish-origin community and say it has generated strong anger for some. One social media message they spotted stated: "In what way can we find and find [the undercover reporters] to harm them like animals!"

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

They have also seen accusations that they were agents for the British authorities, and betrayers to other Kurds. "We are not spies, and we have no aim of hurting the Kurdish-origin community," one reporter says. "Our objective is to reveal those who have compromised its standing. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish identity and deeply troubled about the activities of such people."

Most of those applying for asylum say they are escaping politically motivated oppression, according to an expert from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a organization that helps asylum seekers and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the situation for our covert journalist one investigator, who, when he first arrived to the UK, experienced challenges for many years. He explains he had to live on less than £20 a week while his asylum claim was considered.

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

"Honestly speaking, this is not adequate to sustain a dignified existence," states Mr Avicil from the RWCA.

Because asylum seekers are largely prohibited from employment, he thinks numerous are open to being manipulated and are practically "forced to labor in the black market for as little as £3 per hourly rate".

A spokesperson for the authorities said: "We do not apologize for refusing to grant refugee applicants the right to be employed - granting this would establish an reason for individuals to come to the UK illegally."

Asylum applications can require years to be decided with nearly a 33% taking more than a year, according to government statistics from the end of March this current year.

Saman explains working without authorization in a vehicle cleaning service, hair salon or convenience store would have been quite easy to accomplish, but he told the team he would not have participated in that.

However, he states that those he met employed in unauthorized mini-marts during his investigation seemed "confused", notably those whose asylum claim has been rejected and who were in the appeals process.

"They spent all their money to travel to the United Kingdom, they had their refugee application rejected and now they've sacrificed their entire investment."

Ali agrees that these individuals seemed in dire straits.

"When [they] state you're prohibited to be employed - but also [you]