Why We Chose to Go Covert to Reveal Criminal Activity in the Kurdish-origin Community

A pair of Kurdish-background men decided to go undercover to reveal a network behind illegal commercial establishments because the wrongdoers are damaging the image of Kurdish people in the Britain, they state.

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

The team discovered that a Kurdish-linked illegal enterprise was operating small shops, hair salons and car washes throughout Britain, and sought to find out more about how it functioned and who was taking part.

Armed with secret cameras, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish refugee applicants with no right to be employed, attempting to acquire and manage a small shop from which to sell contraband cigarettes and vapes.

The investigators were able to uncover how simple it is for an individual in these circumstances to establish and run a business on the High Street in public view. The individuals involved, we learned, pay Kurdish individuals who have British citizenship to legally establish the enterprises in their names, assisting to mislead the government agencies.

Saman and Ali also succeeded to discreetly document one of those at the centre of the operation, who stated that he could remove official penalties of up to sixty thousand pounds encountered those using illegal employees.

"Personally wanted to contribute in revealing these illegal activities [...] to loudly proclaim that they don't represent our community," states one reporter, a former asylum seeker personally. Saman entered the UK without authorization, having escaped from Kurdistan - a area that covers the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not internationally recognised as a state - because his life was at danger.

The journalists recognize that tensions over illegal migration are significant in the UK and say they have both been worried that the inquiry could intensify conflicts.

But the other reporter explains that the unauthorized employment "damages the entire Kurdish population" and he feels obligated to "bring it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Additionally, the journalist says he was concerned the publication could be used by the extreme right.

He says this particularly struck him when he noticed that radical right campaigner a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom protest was taking place in the capital on one of the weekends he was operating covertly. Placards and banners could be seen at the rally, reading "we demand our nation back".

Both journalists have both been tracking online reaction to the investigation from within the Kurdish population and explain it has generated significant outrage for certain individuals. One social media post they observed stated: "In what way can we locate and find [the undercover reporters] to attack them like dogs!"

A different demanded their families in Kurdistan to be harmed.

They have also seen allegations that they were spies for the British authorities, and traitors to other Kurds. "Both of us are not spies, and we have no desire of hurting the Kurdish population," Saman explains. "Our aim is to uncover those who have damaged its image. We are proud of our Kurdish heritage and profoundly troubled about the actions of such persons."

The majority of those seeking refugee status say they are escaping politically motivated discrimination, according to an expert from the a refugee support organization, a non-profit that assists refugees and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the situation for our covert journalist Saman, who, when he first arrived to the UK, struggled for years. He says he had to survive on under twenty pounds a week while his asylum claim was processed.

Asylum seekers now get approximately £49 a week - or £9.95 if they are in accommodation which provides food, according to government policies.

"Practically stating, this isn't sufficient to maintain a acceptable existence," explains Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because asylum seekers are mostly prevented from working, he believes many are susceptible to being manipulated and are practically "forced to labor in the illegal market for as low as three pounds per hour".

A official for the authorities commented: "The government are unapologetic for refusing to grant asylum seekers the authorization to be employed - granting this would create an incentive for individuals to migrate to the UK illegally."

Asylum cases can take multiple years to be resolved with almost a 33% requiring more than one year, according to official statistics from the end of March this year.

Saman states being employed without authorization in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or convenience store would have been very simple to achieve, but he told us he would never have participated in that.

However, he explains that those he met laboring in illegal mini-marts during his investigation seemed "lost", especially those whose refugee application has been rejected and who were in the appeals process.

"They used all of their funds to come to the United Kingdom, they had their asylum refused and now they've lost their entire investment."

Ali acknowledges that these people seemed hopeless.

"When [they] say you're forbidden to work - but additionally [you]