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

Two Kurdish individuals consented to go undercover to uncover a operation behind unlawful commercial enterprises because the lawbreakers are negatively affecting the image of Kurds in the Britain, they state.

The two, who we are calling Saman and Ali, are Kurdish-origin journalists who have both resided lawfully in the United Kingdom for many years.

The team uncovered that a Kurdish-linked criminal operation was running convenience stores, barbershops and vehicle cleaning services throughout the UK, and wanted to learn more about how it worked and who was participating.

Equipped with secret cameras, Ali and Saman presented themselves as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no right to be employed, looking to acquire and manage a mini-mart from which to sell unlawful cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were successful to reveal how easy it is for someone in these conditions to start and run a commercial operation on the main street in full view. The individuals participating, we discovered, compensate Kurdish individuals who have UK citizenship to register the operations in their names, assisting to mislead the officials.

Saman and Ali also managed to secretly record one of those at the core of the organization, who asserted that he could erase government sanctions of up to £60k imposed on those employing unauthorized laborers.

"I aimed to play a role in uncovering these unlawful activities [...] to declare that they do not characterize our community," states one reporter, a former asylum seeker personally. The reporter entered the country without authorization, having escaped from the Kurdish region - a area that straddles the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not officially recognized as a nation - because his well-being was at risk.

The reporters recognize that tensions over illegal immigration are elevated in the UK and say they have both been concerned that the probe could intensify tensions.

But Ali states that the illegal working "negatively affects the entire Kurdish community" and he believes driven to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

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

He states this particularly affected him when he discovered that radical right campaigner a prominent activist's national unity protest was happening in the capital on one of the weekends he was operating undercover. Signs and flags could be seen at the protest, displaying "we want our country returned".

Both journalists have both been observing social media response to the investigation from inside the Kurdish-origin population and say it has generated intense frustration for some. One social media comment they found stated: "In what way can we find and locate [the undercover reporters] to attack them like animals!"

Another urged their families in Kurdistan to be attacked.

They have also read claims that they were informants for the British authorities, and betrayers to other Kurds. "Both of us are not informants, and we have no aim of hurting the Kurdish-origin population," one reporter states. "Our goal is to expose those who have harmed its standing. We are honored of our Kurdish heritage and profoundly worried about the actions of such individuals."

The majority of those seeking asylum say they are escaping political discrimination, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a charitable organization, a non-profit 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 many years. He says he had to live on under £20 a per week while his refugee application was processed.

Asylum seekers now receive approximately forty-nine pounds a per week - or £9.95 if they are in housing which provides meals, according to government guidance.

"Honestly speaking, this is not sufficient to support a dignified life," states Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because asylum seekers are largely prevented from employment, he believes a significant number are vulnerable to being exploited and are essentially "obligated to labor in the unofficial market for as low as £3 per hourly rate".

A spokesperson for the government department commented: "We are unapologetic for denying asylum seekers the permission to work - granting this would create an reason for individuals to travel to the United Kingdom illegally."

Asylum applications can take a long time to be resolved with nearly a 33% taking more than 12 months, according to government statistics from the late March this year.

Saman states working without authorization in a car wash, barbershop or mini-mart would have been quite easy to do, but he informed the team he would not have done that.

Nevertheless, he states that those he met working in illegal mini-marts during his research seemed "lost", notably those whose refugee application has been denied and who were in the appeal stage.

"They expended all of their money to come to the UK, they had their asylum refused and now they've forfeited their entire investment."

The other reporter concurs that these individuals seemed desperate.

"If [they] state you're prohibited to be employed - but additionally [you]