Why We Went Undercover to Expose Crime in the Kurdish Community

Two Kurdish-background individuals consented to operate secretly to reveal a operation behind unlawful commercial establishments because the lawbreakers are damaging the image of Kurds in the UK, they explain.

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

Investigators discovered that a Kurdish crime network was operating small shops, hair salons and car washes across the United Kingdom, and sought to find out more about how it functioned and who was involved.

Armed with hidden cameras, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish refugee applicants with no permission to work, attempting to buy and manage a mini-mart from which to trade illegal cigarettes and vapes.

They were successful to uncover how simple it is for someone in these situations to establish and run a business on the main street in public view. The individuals participating, we learned, compensate Kurdish individuals who have British citizenship to legally establish the businesses in their identities, assisting to fool the authorities.

Ali and Saman also succeeded to discreetly record one of those at the centre of the network, who stated that he could erase official sanctions of up to £60,000 faced those employing illegal laborers.

"Personally wanted to contribute in exposing these unlawful activities [...] to say that they don't speak for us," says Saman, a ex- asylum seeker personally. The reporter entered the UK illegally, having fled the Kurdish region - a area that covers the boundaries of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not internationally recognised as a country - because his life was at risk.

The reporters acknowledge that disagreements over unauthorized migration are high in the UK and say they have both been anxious that the investigation could worsen hostilities.

But the other reporter states that the unauthorized employment "harms the whole Kurdish-origin population" and he considers obligated to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Separately, the journalist says he was worried the coverage could be seized upon by the radical right.

He says this particularly impressed him when he realized that far-right campaigner a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom rally was occurring in London on one of the weekends he was working undercover. Signs and banners could be spotted at the rally, reading "we want our country returned".

The reporters have both been observing online feedback to the inquiry from within the Kurdish-origin population and explain it has sparked strong outrage for some. One Facebook post they observed read: "In what way can we locate and find [the undercover reporters] to kill them like dogs!"

One more demanded their families in the Kurdish region to be slaughtered.

They have also seen allegations that they were spies for the British government, and traitors to other Kurds. "We are not informants, and we have no aim of hurting the Kurdish community," Saman explains. "Our objective is to expose those who have harmed its reputation. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish-origin identity and profoundly worried about the behavior of such individuals."

Most of those seeking refugee status state they are escaping politically motivated oppression, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a charity that helps refugees and asylum seekers in the United Kingdom.

This was the scenario for our undercover journalist one investigator, who, when he first came to the UK, struggled for many years. He states he had to live on under twenty pounds a per week while his refugee application was reviewed.

Refugee applicants now get approximately forty-nine pounds a per week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in accommodation which includes meals, according to official guidance.

"Realistically saying, this is not enough to support a dignified existence," says Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because asylum seekers are largely restricted from employment, he thinks many are vulnerable to being manipulated and are practically "compelled to work in the black sector for as little as £3 per hourly rate".

A official for the Home Office said: "The government are unapologetic for denying asylum seekers the right to work - granting this would establish an motivation for individuals to travel to the UK illegally."

Refugee cases can require years to be decided with almost a third taking over 12 months, according to government statistics from the late March this year.

The reporter says working illegally in a car wash, barbershop or convenience store would have been quite easy to do, but he informed the team he would never have done that.

Nevertheless, he states that those he interviewed laboring in illegal convenience stores during his work seemed "confused", particularly those whose refugee application has been rejected and who were in the appeal stage.

"These individuals spent all their savings to come to the UK, they had their asylum rejected and now they've sacrificed their entire investment."

The other reporter acknowledges that these individuals seemed hopeless.

"When [they] state you're forbidden to work - but also [you]