Why We Chose to Go Covert to Uncover Crime in the Kurdish Community

A pair of Kurdish-background men consented to work covertly to expose a network behind illegal High Street enterprises because the wrongdoers are negatively affecting the standing of Kurdish people in the United Kingdom, they say.

The two, who we are referring to as Saman and Ali, are Kurdish reporters who have both lived lawfully in the UK for years.

The team discovered that a Kurdish-linked illegal enterprise was managing mini-marts, barbershops and vehicle cleaning services across Britain, and aimed to find out more about how it functioned and who was taking part.

Armed with secret cameras, Ali and Saman presented themselves as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no permission to be employed, attempting to purchase and manage a small shop from which to distribute contraband cigarettes and vapes.

The investigators were successful to uncover how simple it is for someone in these conditions to establish and operate a business on the High Street in public view. The individuals participating, we discovered, compensate Kurdish individuals who have UK residency to legally establish the enterprises in their names, assisting to mislead the officials.

Ali and Saman also were able to discreetly document one of those at the heart of the operation, who stated that he could remove government sanctions of up to £60,000 encountered those hiring unauthorized workers.

"I wanted to contribute in revealing these illegal practices [...] to loudly proclaim that they do not characterize our community," states Saman, a former refugee applicant personally. The reporter entered the country illegally, having escaped from the Kurdish region - a region that spans the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not internationally recognised as a state - because his well-being was at threat.

The reporters recognize that disagreements over unauthorized immigration are elevated in the United Kingdom and explain they have both been worried that the probe could inflame hostilities.

But the other reporter states that the unauthorized labor "harms the entire Kurdish-origin community" and he considers compelled to "expose it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Additionally, Ali explains he was concerned the coverage could be seized upon by the far-right.

He explains this notably impressed him when he discovered that extreme right activist a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom march was happening in London on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating undercover. Placards and flags could be seen at the rally, showing "we want our nation back".

Saman and Ali have both been tracking online response to the inquiry from inside the Kurdish community and report it has generated significant outrage for certain individuals. One social media comment they spotted stated: "In what way can we find and find [the undercover reporters] to kill them like dogs!"

Another urged their relatives in Kurdistan to be attacked.

They have also encountered accusations that they were agents for the UK government, and betrayers to fellow Kurdish people. "We are not informants, and we have no desire of harming the Kurdish community," Saman says. "Our objective is to reveal those who have compromised its reputation. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish-origin identity and profoundly worried about the behavior of such people."

Most of those seeking refugee status state they are escaping politically motivated persecution, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a charitable organization, a charity that supports asylum seekers and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the scenario for our covert reporter one investigator, who, when he first came to the United Kingdom, faced difficulties for years. He states he had to survive on under twenty pounds a per week while his asylum claim was considered.

Asylum seekers now get approximately £49 a per week - or £9.95 if they are in accommodation which includes meals, according to official guidance.

"Realistically stating, this is not adequate to support a respectable lifestyle," says Mr Avicil from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are mostly restricted from employment, he believes a significant number are susceptible to being exploited and are effectively "obligated to labor in the illegal market for as low as £3 per hour".

A official for the Home Office commented: "We are unapologetic for refusing to grant refugee applicants the permission to be employed - granting this would generate an motivation for people to come to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Refugee cases can take a long time to be processed with approximately a one-third taking over a year, according to official figures from the late March this year.

The reporter explains working without authorization in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or convenience store would have been extremely simple to do, but he told us he would never have participated in that.

Nevertheless, he says that those he encountered working in unauthorized mini-marts during his investigation seemed "confused", especially those whose asylum claim has been refused and who were in the appeal stage.

"They used all of their money to travel to the United Kingdom, they had their asylum denied and now they've lost all they had."

The other reporter concurs that these people seemed desperate.

"When [they] say you're not allowed to be employed - but additionally [you]