Why We Chose to Go Undercover to Expose Crime in the Kurdish Community

A pair of Kurdish-background individuals agreed to work covertly to uncover a network behind illegal commercial businesses because the lawbreakers are negatively affecting the image of Kurds in the United Kingdom, they explain.

The pair, who we are referring to as Ali and Saman, are Kurdish reporters who have both resided legally in the UK for many years.

Investigators discovered that a Kurdish criminal operation was operating convenience stores, hair salons and vehicle cleaning services throughout Britain, and aimed to learn more about how it worked and who was participating.

Equipped with covert recording devices, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish refugee applicants with no authorization to be employed, seeking to purchase and operate a convenience store from which to sell unlawful cigarettes and vapes.

The investigators were able to discover how straightforward it is for a person in these circumstances to establish and manage a business on the main street in public view. The individuals involved, we found, compensate Kurds who have UK citizenship to legally establish the enterprises in their names, helping to fool the officials.

Ali and Saman also succeeded to secretly record one of those at the core of the organization, who stated that he could remove official penalties of up to £60,000 faced those using unauthorized laborers.

"Personally aimed to contribute in uncovering these illegal activities [...] to say that they don't represent us," states Saman, a former refugee applicant personally. Saman entered the country without authorization, having escaped from Kurdistan - a territory that spans the borders of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not officially recognized as a country - because his safety was at risk.

The investigators recognize that conflicts over unauthorized migration are significant in the UK and say they have both been concerned that the inquiry could intensify tensions.

But the other reporter says that the unauthorized labor "negatively affects the whole Kurdish-origin community" and he believes obligated to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Additionally, Ali says he was concerned the reporting could be used by the far-right.

He explains this notably affected him when he realized that radical right activist a prominent activist's national unity protest was occurring in London on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating undercover. Banners and banners could be seen at the gathering, displaying "we want our country returned".

The reporters have both been tracking social media reaction to the inquiry from inside the Kurdish community and explain it has sparked strong frustration for some. One Facebook message they spotted stated: "In what way can we find and find [the undercover reporters] to harm them like dogs!"

One more called for their relatives in Kurdistan to be slaughtered.

They have also seen claims that they were informants for the British authorities, and traitors to other Kurds. "Both of us are not informants, and we have no aim of hurting the Kurdish community," Saman explains. "Our aim is to reveal those who have damaged its image. We are honored of our Kurdish-origin identity and deeply worried about the behavior of such persons."

The majority of those applying for refugee status claim they are fleeing political persecution, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a organization that supports refugees and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the case for our covert journalist one investigator, who, when he first came to the United Kingdom, struggled for years. He states he had to live on less than £20 a per week while his refugee application was considered.

Refugee applicants now get about forty-nine pounds a week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in accommodation which offers food, according to official regulations.

"Realistically speaking, this is not adequate to support a acceptable existence," states Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because asylum seekers are generally prohibited from employment, he thinks many are susceptible to being exploited and are essentially "compelled to work in the black market for as little as £3 per hour".

A representative for the authorities stated: "We do not apologize for not granting refugee applicants the right to be employed - doing so would create an reason for individuals to come to the United Kingdom illegally."

Asylum cases can take multiple years to be resolved with nearly a one-third requiring more than a year, according to government data from the late March this year.

Saman says being employed without authorization in a vehicle cleaning service, hair salon or convenience store would have been quite straightforward to do, but he informed us he would not have engaged in that.

Nonetheless, he explains that those he interviewed employed in illegal mini-marts during his work seemed "confused", particularly those whose refugee application has been rejected and who were in the appeals process.

"These individuals spent all their savings to migrate to the UK, they had their asylum refused and now they've lost their entire investment."

Ali acknowledges that these individuals seemed desperate.

"If [they] say you're forbidden to work - but simultaneously [you]