The Reasons We Went Covert to Uncover Criminal Activity in the Kurdish-origin Community

A pair of Kurdish men agreed to operate secretly to uncover a organization behind unlawful main street businesses because the criminals are damaging the reputation of Kurdish people in the Britain, they explain.

The two, who we are calling Saman and Ali, are Kurdish reporters who have both resided lawfully in the UK for many years.

Investigators uncovered that a Kurdish-linked crime network was running convenience stores, hair salons and car washes throughout the United Kingdom, and aimed to discover more about how it worked and who was taking part.

Armed with secret recording devices, Ali and Saman posed as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no authorization to be employed, attempting to buy and operate a convenience store from which to trade unlawful tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

They were able to uncover how simple it is for someone in these situations to start and manage a business on the commercial area in plain sight. The individuals participating, we discovered, compensate Kurds who have UK citizenship to legally establish the businesses in their names, enabling to deceive the government agencies.

Saman and Ali also managed to secretly record one of those at the heart of the operation, who claimed that he could eliminate government fines of up to £60,000 faced those employing illegal employees.

"I aimed to contribute in exposing these illegal operations [...] to loudly proclaim that they don't represent Kurdish people," explains Saman, a former asylum seeker himself. Saman came to the country illegally, having escaped from Kurdistan - a territory that spans the boundaries of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not officially recognized as a state - because his life was at danger.

The investigators recognize that conflicts over illegal immigration are significant in the UK and say they have both been anxious that the inquiry could inflame conflicts.

But the other reporter explains that the unauthorized labor "negatively affects the whole Kurdish-origin population" and he feels obligated to "expose it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Furthermore, Ali explains he was anxious the reporting could be exploited by the extreme right.

He explains this notably struck him when he realized that extreme right activist a prominent activist's national unity march was taking place in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating undercover. Placards and flags could be observed at the gathering, showing "we want our country back".

Both journalists have both been monitoring online feedback to the exposé from inside the Kurdish community and explain it has caused significant anger for some. One Facebook comment they observed read: "In what way can we find and find [the undercover reporters] to kill them like animals!"

Another called for their families in the Kurdish region to be attacked.

They have also read allegations that they were agents for the UK authorities, and traitors to fellow Kurdish people. "We are not informants, and we have no intention of harming the Kurdish-origin community," one reporter states. "Our goal is to reveal those who have compromised its image. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish-origin identity and profoundly worried about the behavior of such individuals."

Most of those seeking asylum state they are fleeing politically motivated oppression, according to an expert from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a organization that assists refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the case for our covert reporter one investigator, who, when he initially arrived to the UK, faced difficulties for many years. He explains he had to survive on less than twenty pounds a week while his refugee application was reviewed.

Refugee applicants now receive approximately £49 a per week - or £9.95 if they are in shelter which offers meals, according to Home Office guidance.

"Realistically speaking, this isn't enough to support a acceptable lifestyle," says Mr Avicil from the RWCA.

Because asylum seekers are largely prohibited from employment, he feels a significant number are susceptible to being exploited and are practically "compelled to work in the black economy for as low as three pounds per hour".

A official for the authorities commented: "We make no apology for not granting asylum seekers the authorization to work - doing so would generate an motivation for people to travel to the UK without authorization."

Refugee cases can take years to be processed with nearly a one-third requiring more than one year, according to government data from the end of March this current year.

Saman explains working without authorization in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or mini-mart would have been extremely straightforward to accomplish, but he informed the team he would never have participated in that.

However, he says that those he encountered laboring in illegal mini-marts during his investigation seemed "disoriented", notably those whose refugee application has been refused and who were in the legal challenge.

"These individuals used all of their money to come to the United Kingdom, they had their refugee application refused and now they've sacrificed all they had."

The other reporter concurs that these individuals seemed hopeless.

"If [they] state you're forbidden to be employed - but simultaneously [you]