Why We Chose to Go Covert to Reveal Criminal Activity in the Kurdish-origin Community

Two Kurdish men consented to work covertly to uncover a network behind unlawful commercial businesses because the wrongdoers are damaging the reputation of Kurds in the UK, they say.

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

The team found that a Kurdish criminal operation was operating small shops, hair salons and car washes throughout Britain, and sought to learn more about how it functioned and who was participating.

Equipped with secret recording devices, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish asylum seekers with no right to be employed, seeking to buy and manage a small shop from which to sell illegal cigarettes and vapes.

They were successful to uncover how easy it is for a person in these conditions to start and operate a enterprise on the main street in plain sight. Those participating, we discovered, pay Kurds who have UK citizenship to register the enterprises in their identities, helping to deceive the authorities.

Ali and Saman also managed to discreetly document one of those at the centre of the operation, who claimed that he could erase government penalties of up to sixty thousand pounds imposed on those using unauthorized employees.

"I sought to participate in uncovering these unlawful practices [...] to declare that they don't characterize Kurdish people," states Saman, a ex- refugee applicant himself. Saman entered the UK illegally, having fled the Kurdish region - a area that spans the borders of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not officially recognized as a nation - because his life was at danger.

The investigators acknowledge that tensions over unauthorized immigration are high in the UK and say they have both been worried that the probe could worsen conflicts.

But Ali states that the illegal employment "negatively affects the whole Kurdish community" and he feels compelled to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Furthermore, the journalist mentions he was concerned the reporting could be seized upon by the far-right.

He explains this especially affected him when he realized that radical right campaigner a prominent activist's national unity rally was happening in the capital on one of the weekends he was operating covertly. Signs and banners could be spotted at the gathering, showing "we demand our country back".

Both journalists have both been tracking social media reaction to the inquiry from within the Kurdish population and report it has caused strong frustration for some. One social media post they observed read: "In what way can we find and find [the undercover reporters] to kill them like dogs!"

Another called for their relatives in Kurdistan to be harmed.

They have also read accusations that they were spies for the UK government, and betrayers to other Kurdish people. "We are not spies, and we have no desire of damaging the Kurdish-origin population," Saman states. "Our aim is to expose those who have damaged its standing. We are proud of our Kurdish-origin heritage and profoundly worried about the behavior of such individuals."

Most of those seeking refugee status say they are escaping political discrimination, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a charity that supports asylum seekers and refugee applicants in the United Kingdom.

This was the scenario for our undercover journalist one investigator, who, when he initially arrived to the UK, faced difficulties for many years. He says he had to live on less than twenty pounds a per week while his refugee application was processed.

Refugee applicants now are provided approximately £49 a week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in housing which offers meals, according to official guidance.

"Honestly stating, this isn't sufficient to support a dignified life," states the expert from the the organization.

Because asylum seekers are generally restricted from employment, he thinks a significant number are vulnerable to being taken advantage of and are practically "obligated to labor in the unofficial market for as little as three pounds per hourly rate".

A official for the authorities commented: "The government are unapologetic for not granting refugee applicants the permission to work - doing so would generate an reason for individuals to travel to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Refugee cases can take a long time to be decided with approximately a one-third requiring over one year, according to government figures from the end of March this current year.

The reporter explains being employed illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or convenience store would have been very straightforward to accomplish, but he informed us he would never have engaged in that.

However, he states that those he interviewed employed in illegal mini-marts during his investigation seemed "lost", especially those whose asylum claim has been rejected and who were in the legal challenge.

"They expended all of their money to come to the United Kingdom, they had their asylum rejected and now they've lost all they had."

The other reporter agrees that these individuals seemed desperate.

"When [they] say you're not allowed to work - but also [you]