Why We Went Undercover to Reveal Criminal Activity in the Kurdish-origin Community

A pair of Kurdish-background individuals agreed to go undercover to expose a organization behind illegal commercial businesses because the lawbreakers are causing harm the image of Kurds in the UK, they explain.

The two, who we are calling Saman and Ali, are Kurdish-origin reporters who have both lived lawfully in the United Kingdom for a long time.

Investigators found that a Kurdish-linked crime network was running small shops, barbershops and car washes the length of the United Kingdom, and aimed to find out more about how it operated and who was participating.

Armed with hidden recording devices, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no right to work, seeking to purchase and operate a small shop from which to sell illegal cigarettes and vapes.

The investigators were able to uncover how easy it is for an individual in these circumstances to set up and manage a enterprise on the commercial area in plain sight. The individuals involved, we learned, compensate Kurdish individuals who have UK citizenship to register the businesses in their identities, assisting to deceive the officials.

Ali and Saman also succeeded to covertly film one of those at the centre of the organization, who claimed that he could remove official sanctions of up to sixty thousand pounds imposed on those using unauthorized workers.

"Personally wanted to play a role in exposing these unlawful practices [...] to say that they don't speak for Kurdish people," states Saman, a former refugee applicant himself. Saman entered the United Kingdom without authorization, having escaped from Kurdistan - a area that covers the boundaries of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not officially recognized as a country - because his well-being was at danger.

The investigators acknowledge that disagreements over illegal migration are high in the United Kingdom and say they have both been concerned that the investigation could worsen conflicts.

But the other reporter states that the illegal labor "harms the whole Kurdish-origin population" and he believes driven to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Furthermore, the journalist explains he was concerned the publication could be seized upon by the far-right.

He explains this notably struck him when he discovered that extreme right activist Tommy Robinson's national unity rally was occurring in the capital on one of the weekends he was working covertly. Placards and flags could be spotted at the protest, reading "we want our country back".

The reporters have both been tracking social media reaction to the investigation from within the Kurdish-origin community and report it has caused significant frustration for some. One Facebook comment they spotted said: "How can we identify and locate [the undercover reporters] to harm them like dogs!"

One more demanded their relatives in the Kurdish region to be attacked.

They have also seen accusations that they were spies for the UK authorities, and betrayers to fellow Kurds. "Both of us are not spies, and we have no aim of harming the Kurdish community," Saman explains. "Our aim is to reveal those who have compromised its standing. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish-origin identity and profoundly concerned about the activities of such people."

Most of those applying for refugee status say they are fleeing political discrimination, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a refugee support organization, a organization that helps refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the scenario for our undercover journalist Saman, who, when he first arrived to the UK, faced difficulties for years. He states he had to live on under £20 a week while his asylum claim was considered.

Refugee applicants now get approximately £49 a per week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in accommodation which provides food, according to Home Office policies.

"Honestly stating, this isn't sufficient to maintain a respectable life," states the expert from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are mostly restricted from employment, he thinks numerous are susceptible to being manipulated and are practically "compelled to labor in the black economy for as low as three pounds per hourly rate".

A representative for the government department commented: "We make no apology for not granting asylum seekers the permission to be employed - doing so would establish an motivation for people to migrate to the United Kingdom illegally."

Asylum applications can take multiple years to be decided with nearly a one-third taking more than one year, according to government figures from the late March this current year.

The reporter explains being employed illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, hair salon or mini-mart would have been extremely easy to do, but he explained to the team he would not have engaged in that.

Nevertheless, he says that those he encountered laboring in unauthorized convenience stores during his investigation seemed "confused", particularly those whose refugee application has been rejected and who were in the appeals process.

"These individuals expended their entire money to migrate to the UK, they had their asylum refused and now they've sacrificed all they had."

The other reporter concurs that these people seemed desperate.

"If [they] declare you're forbidden to be employed - but additionally [you]