The Reasons We Went Undercover to Expose Criminal Activity in the Kurdish Community

A pair of Kurdish individuals decided to go undercover to expose a network behind illegal main street businesses because the wrongdoers are causing harm the image of Kurds in the Britain, they say.

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

Investigators uncovered that a Kurdish-linked crime network was running small shops, barbershops and vehicle cleaning services throughout the UK, and aimed to learn more about how it worked and who was involved.

Armed with hidden recording devices, Ali and Saman posed as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no authorization to be employed, attempting to acquire and run a mini-mart from which to trade contraband cigarettes and vapes.

The investigators were successful to uncover how straightforward it is for someone in these situations to start and run a business on the High Street in public view. Those participating, we learned, compensate Kurdish individuals who have British citizenship to legally establish the enterprises in their identities, helping to fool the officials.

Saman and Ali also were able to covertly record 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 workers.

"I sought to participate in uncovering these unlawful activities [...] to loudly proclaim that they don't represent Kurdish people," says Saman, a former refugee applicant personally. Saman came to the United Kingdom illegally, having escaped from Kurdistan - a area that straddles the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not officially recognized as a state - because his life was at danger.

The journalists acknowledge that conflicts over illegal migration are elevated in the UK and say they have both been anxious that the investigation could inflame conflicts.

But Ali says that the unauthorized labor "harms the whole Kurdish-origin community" and he considers obligated to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Separately, Ali says he was worried the coverage could be used by the extreme right.

He states this notably impressed him when he noticed that radical right activist a prominent activist's national unity protest was occurring in the capital on one of the weekends he was operating undercover. Placards and flags could be spotted at the gathering, showing "we demand our nation returned".

The reporters have both been observing online reaction to the investigation from within the Kurdish-origin community and say it has caused intense frustration for certain individuals. One social media post they found stated: "In what way can we identify and track [the undercover reporters] to kill them like animals!"

Another called for their relatives in the Kurdish region to be attacked.

They have also read claims that they were spies for the British government, and traitors to fellow Kurds. "We are not informants, and we have no desire of harming the Kurdish population," one reporter states. "Our objective is to expose those who have damaged its standing. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish-origin heritage and deeply concerned about the actions of such individuals."

Most of those applying for asylum say they are escaping politically motivated persecution, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a charitable organization, a charity that helps asylum seekers and asylum seekers in the United Kingdom.

This was the situation for our undercover reporter Saman, who, when he initially came to the United Kingdom, experienced challenges for years. He says he had to live on under twenty pounds a week while his refugee application was considered.

Refugee applicants now get about £49 a per week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in accommodation which provides food, according to government guidance.

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

Because refugee applicants are generally prohibited from employment, he feels a significant number are susceptible to being manipulated and are practically "forced to work in the unofficial economy for as low as £3 per hourly rate".

A representative for the government department commented: "The government do not apologize for refusing to grant refugee applicants the authorization to be employed - doing so would create an motivation for individuals to migrate to the UK without authorization."

Refugee cases can take multiple years to be resolved with approximately a third taking over one year, according to official figures from the late March this year.

Saman explains being employed without authorization in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or mini-mart would have been extremely straightforward to do, but he explained to the team he would never have participated in that.

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

"These individuals spent all of their funds to migrate to the United Kingdom, they had their asylum denied and now they've forfeited everything."

Ali acknowledges that these people seemed desperate.

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