Why Our Team Went Covert to Reveal Crime in the Kurdish Population

Two Kurdish men consented to operate secretly to uncover a network behind illegal commercial establishments because the criminals are negatively affecting the standing of Kurds in the Britain, they say.

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

The team discovered that a Kurdish crime network was operating convenience stores, barbershops and vehicle cleaning services the length of the United Kingdom, and sought to find out more about how it functioned and who was taking part.

Prepared with secret recording devices, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish asylum seekers with no authorization to be employed, attempting to buy and operate a small shop from which to distribute contraband tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were successful to reveal how straightforward it is for a person in these circumstances to set up and run a business on the High Street in plain sight. Those participating, we discovered, pay Kurdish individuals who have UK citizenship to register the operations in their names, assisting to deceive the officials.

Saman and Ali also were able to discreetly record one of those at the heart of the organization, who asserted that he could remove government fines of up to sixty thousand pounds encountered those hiring illegal laborers.

"I aimed to contribute in uncovering these illegal activities [...] to declare that they do not characterize us," states one reporter, a ex- asylum seeker personally. Saman came to the UK without authorization, having escaped from Kurdistan - a territory that straddles the borders of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not globally acknowledged as a nation - because his life was at risk.

The reporters acknowledge that tensions over unauthorized migration are elevated in the UK and state they have both been worried that the investigation could worsen conflicts.

But the other reporter explains that the illegal employment "harms the entire Kurdish-origin community" and he feels compelled to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Additionally, Ali mentions he was concerned the coverage could be used by the radical right.

He explains this notably impressed him when he realized that far-right activist a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom march was occurring in the capital on one of the weekends he was operating undercover. Placards and flags could be observed at the protest, reading "we demand our nation back".

The reporters have both been observing social media response to the investigation from within the Kurdish population and report it has generated strong anger for certain individuals. One Facebook post they found stated: "In what way can we identify and locate [the undercover reporters] to harm them like animals!"

A different called for their families in the Kurdish region to be harmed.

They have also seen allegations that they were spies for the UK government, and traitors to fellow Kurds. "We are not informants, and we have no intention of damaging the Kurdish community," Saman explains. "Our goal is to expose those who have harmed its reputation. We are honored of our Kurdish identity and deeply troubled about the activities of such persons."

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

This was the scenario for our undercover reporter one investigator, who, when he first came to the UK, experienced challenges for many years. He states he had to live on less than twenty pounds a week while his asylum claim was considered.

Refugee applicants now are provided approximately forty-nine pounds a week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in accommodation which includes food, according to government guidance.

"Honestly stating, this is not adequate to sustain a dignified lifestyle," states Mr Avicil from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are largely restricted from employment, he thinks many are vulnerable to being taken advantage of and are practically "compelled to labor in the black sector for as little as three pounds per hour".

A representative for the authorities said: "We do not apologize for not granting asylum seekers the right to work - granting this would generate an incentive for people to migrate to the UK without authorization."

Refugee applications can take multiple years to be decided with approximately a 33% requiring over one year, according to official figures from the end of March this current year.

Saman explains working illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or mini-mart would have been very straightforward to do, but he told the team he would never have engaged in that.

Nevertheless, he says that those he interviewed employed in unauthorized convenience stores during his work seemed "disoriented", notably those whose refugee application has been rejected and who were in the legal challenge.

"They spent their entire savings to migrate to the UK, they had their asylum denied and now they've forfeited all they had."

The other reporter concurs that these people seemed hopeless.

"When [they] state you're prohibited to work - but additionally [you]