Why We Chose to Go Undercover to Reveal Crime in the Kurdish Population

Two Kurdish individuals consented to operate secretly to expose a organization behind unlawful commercial enterprises because the lawbreakers are damaging the reputation of Kurds in the UK, they say.

The two, who we are referring to as Ali and Saman, are Kurdish-origin journalists who have both lived legally in the United Kingdom for many years.

The team discovered that a Kurdish illegal enterprise was managing mini-marts, barbershops and vehicle cleaning services across the United Kingdom, and aimed to find out more about how it worked and who was involved.

Equipped with covert recording devices, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no right to be employed, attempting to purchase and manage a small shop from which to distribute illegal cigarettes and vapes.

The investigators were successful to discover how simple it is for an individual in these conditions to start and operate a commercial operation on the main street in full view. The individuals involved, we discovered, pay Kurds who have British citizenship to legally establish the enterprises in their identities, helping to mislead the officials.

Saman and Ali also succeeded to covertly document one of those at the heart of the network, who claimed that he could remove official fines of up to sixty thousand pounds encountered those employing illegal laborers.

"I aimed to play a role in exposing these unlawful practices [...] to loudly proclaim that they don't represent Kurdish people," says Saman, a ex- refugee applicant personally. The reporter entered the country without authorization, having fled the Kurdish region - a territory that covers the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not officially recognized as a country - because his well-being was at danger.

The journalists acknowledge that conflicts over unauthorized immigration are high in the UK and state they have both been worried that the probe could worsen conflicts.

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

Furthermore, Ali mentions he was worried the reporting could be seized upon by the extreme right.

He explains this particularly impressed him when he discovered that far-right activist Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom rally was happening in the capital on one of the weekends he was working covertly. Signs and flags could be observed at the protest, reading "we want our country back".

Saman and Ali have both been tracking social media reaction to the investigation from within the Kurdish community and say it has generated significant outrage for certain individuals. One Facebook message they observed stated: "How can we locate and track [the undercover reporters] to harm them like animals!"

A different called for their families in Kurdistan to be attacked.

They have also read allegations that they were agents for the UK authorities, and traitors to other Kurds. "We are not spies, and we have no intention of hurting the Kurdish population," Saman states. "Our goal is to reveal those who have compromised its standing. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish identity and extremely troubled about the behavior of such persons."

The majority of those seeking asylum state they are fleeing political oppression, according to an expert from the a charitable organization, a charity that supports refugees and refugee applicants in the United Kingdom.

This was the scenario for our undercover reporter Saman, who, when he initially arrived to the UK, experienced challenges for years. He says he had to live on less than twenty pounds a per week while his refugee application was reviewed.

Refugee applicants now receive approximately £49 a week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in accommodation which includes meals, according to government regulations.

"Honestly saying, this is not adequate to sustain a dignified lifestyle," explains Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because refugee applicants are largely restricted from working, he believes many are vulnerable to being manipulated and are practically "compelled to labor in the black sector for as little as three pounds per hourly rate".

A representative for the Home Office commented: "We are unapologetic for refusing to grant asylum seekers the permission to be employed - granting this would establish an motivation for people to come to the UK illegally."

Refugee applications can require multiple years to be processed with nearly a 33% taking more than 12 months, according to government data from the spring this current year.

Saman says being employed without authorization in a car wash, hair salon or convenience store would have been extremely straightforward to achieve, but he told us he would not have participated in that.

Nevertheless, he states that those he encountered working in unauthorized mini-marts during his investigation seemed "lost", particularly those whose refugee application has been rejected and who were in the legal challenge.

"They spent all of their savings to come to the UK, they had their asylum refused and now they've forfeited their entire investment."

Ali concurs that these individuals seemed hopeless.

"When [they] declare you're prohibited to be employed - but additionally [you]