Why We Went Covert to Uncover Criminal Activity in the Kurdish Community

A pair of Kurdish men decided to work covertly to uncover a network behind illegal High Street businesses because the criminals are negatively affecting the reputation of Kurds in the UK, they say.

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

Investigators discovered that a Kurdish-linked crime network was operating small shops, hair salons and vehicle cleaning services the length of Britain, and sought to find out more about how it worked and who was taking part.

Prepared with secret recording devices, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no authorization to be employed, attempting to acquire and manage a mini-mart from which to sell unlawful cigarettes and vapes.

The investigators were successful to discover how straightforward it is for an individual in these circumstances to establish and operate a commercial operation on the commercial area in public view. Those involved, we discovered, pay Kurds who have British citizenship to register the enterprises in their names, enabling to mislead the government agencies.

Saman and Ali also were able to discreetly document one of those at the core of the organization, who stated that he could remove official sanctions of up to £60,000 imposed on those using unauthorized workers.

"Personally aimed to contribute in uncovering these unlawful practices [...] to say that they do not represent us," says Saman, a former asylum seeker personally. Saman entered the United Kingdom illegally, having fled the Kurdish region - a area that covers the boundaries of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not officially recognized as a country - because his life was at danger.

The journalists admit that conflicts over illegal migration are elevated in the United Kingdom and say they have both been concerned that the investigation could inflame hostilities.

But the other reporter explains that the unauthorized labor "damages the whole Kurdish-origin population" and he believes obligated to "bring it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Separately, Ali mentions he was concerned the publication could be exploited by the extreme right.

He states this notably impressed him when he noticed that extreme right activist a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom rally was happening in London on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating secretly. Placards and flags could be spotted at the protest, reading "we demand our country returned".

The reporters have both been tracking online reaction to the investigation from within the Kurdish community and report it has caused intense frustration for some. One Facebook post they spotted read: "How can we locate and find [the undercover reporters] to harm them like dogs!"

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

They have also encountered allegations that they were spies for the UK government, and traitors to fellow Kurdish people. "Both of us are not informants, and we have no intention of harming the Kurdish-origin community," one reporter states. "Our aim is to uncover those who have harmed its standing. We are proud of our Kurdish-origin identity and profoundly concerned about the activities of such persons."

The majority of those seeking asylum say they are escaping politically motivated oppression, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a charitable organization, a organization that supports asylum seekers and refugee applicants in the United Kingdom.

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

Asylum seekers now get approximately forty-nine pounds a week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in shelter which provides food, according to Home Office policies.

"Practically speaking, this isn't enough to maintain a respectable life," states Mr Avicil from the RWCA.

Because asylum seekers are mostly prevented from employment, he feels numerous are susceptible to being taken advantage of and are effectively "compelled to labor in the black economy for as low as £3 per hour".

A representative for the authorities said: "We do not apologize for denying refugee applicants the authorization to be employed - doing so would create an reason for people to migrate to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Asylum applications can take years to be resolved with almost a 33% taking over one year, according to official statistics from the late March this current year.

The reporter says being employed without authorization in a car wash, barbershop or convenience store would have been quite easy to accomplish, but he told us he would not have participated in that.

Nonetheless, he says that those he met laboring in illegal convenience stores during his investigation seemed "confused", particularly those whose asylum claim has been denied and who were in the appeals process.

"These individuals spent all of their money to migrate to the United Kingdom, they had their refugee application denied and now they've forfeited all they had."

The other reporter acknowledges that these people seemed in dire straits.

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