Why Our Team Went Covert to Uncover Criminal Activity in the Kurdish Community

A pair of Kurdish-background men consented to go undercover to expose a organization behind illegal commercial establishments because the criminals are negatively affecting the image of Kurds in the United Kingdom, they say.

The pair, who we are calling Saman and Ali, are Kurdish-origin investigators who have both lived lawfully in the United Kingdom for many years.

The team uncovered that a Kurdish-linked crime network was managing small shops, barbershops and vehicle cleaning services across Britain, and wanted to learn more about how it worked and who was taking part.

Prepared with hidden recording devices, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no right to be employed, attempting to acquire and run a convenience store from which to distribute unlawful tobacco products and vapes.

They were able to reveal how straightforward it is for someone in these situations to establish and operate a business on the main street in public view. The individuals involved, we discovered, compensate Kurds who have UK residency to register the businesses in their identities, enabling to mislead the officials.

Ali and Saman also succeeded to covertly record one of those at the core of the network, who asserted that he could erase official fines of up to sixty thousand pounds encountered those using illegal laborers.

"I aimed to participate in uncovering these illegal practices [...] to say that they do not represent Kurdish people," states Saman, a ex- refugee applicant himself. Saman came to the UK without authorization, having fled Kurdistan - a region that covers the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not globally acknowledged as a state - because his safety was at danger.

The reporters acknowledge that conflicts over illegal migration are significant in the UK and say they have both been anxious that the probe could intensify conflicts.

But Ali says that the illegal employment "damages the whole Kurdish community" and he believes compelled to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Additionally, Ali explains he was anxious the coverage could be used by the radical right.

He explains this especially impressed him when he discovered that extreme right campaigner a prominent activist's national unity protest was happening in the capital on one of the weekends he was working secretly. Placards and banners could be observed at the gathering, reading "we want our nation back".

Both journalists have both been observing online reaction to the investigation from inside the Kurdish-origin population and explain it has caused strong outrage for some. One Facebook message they observed read: "How can we identify and find [the undercover reporters] to attack them like animals!"

Another demanded their families in Kurdistan to be attacked.

They have also seen allegations that they were spies for the UK government, and betrayers to other Kurds. "We are not spies, and we have no desire of harming the Kurdish population," one reporter states. "Our objective is to expose those who have harmed its image. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish identity and deeply worried about the behavior of such individuals."

The majority of those applying for asylum state they are escaping political persecution, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a charitable organization, a charity that helps refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the case for our covert journalist one investigator, who, when he initially arrived to the United Kingdom, experienced challenges for many years. He states he had to live on less than £20 a per week while his asylum claim was considered.

Asylum seekers now get about forty-nine pounds a week - or £9.95 if they are in shelter which offers meals, according to official regulations.

"Realistically saying, this isn't sufficient to maintain a respectable lifestyle," states Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because asylum seekers are generally prohibited from employment, he believes many are open to being manipulated and are effectively "forced to work in the black sector for as little as £3 per hourly rate".

A representative for the authorities stated: "We make no apology for not granting refugee applicants the permission to work - granting this would generate an motivation for individuals to come to the UK illegally."

Refugee applications can take years to be processed with approximately a 33% requiring more than 12 months, according to government data from the late March this year.

Saman states being employed without authorization in a car wash, barbershop or convenience store would have been quite straightforward to achieve, but he told the team he would never have done that.

However, he explains that those he met employed in illegal mini-marts during his investigation seemed "disoriented", especially those whose refugee application has been rejected and who were in the legal challenge.

"They used all their funds to come to the UK, they had their refugee application rejected and now they've sacrificed all they had."

The other reporter agrees that these people seemed hopeless.

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