Why Our Team Chose to Go Covert to Reveal Crime in the Kurdish Population

A pair of Kurdish-background men agreed to operate secretly to expose a organization behind unlawful commercial enterprises because the lawbreakers are causing harm the image of Kurds in the UK, they say.

The pair, who we are calling Ali and Saman, are Kurdish reporters who have both lived lawfully in the United Kingdom for many years.

The team found that a Kurdish-linked crime network was operating mini-marts, hair salons and vehicle cleaning services across the United Kingdom, and aimed to learn more about how it worked and who was participating.

Armed with secret cameras, Ali and Saman presented themselves as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no authorization to work, attempting to acquire and manage a small shop from which to trade contraband cigarettes and vapes.

They were able to reveal how simple it is for an individual in these circumstances to start and run a enterprise on the commercial area in public view. The individuals involved, we learned, pay Kurdish individuals who have UK citizenship to legally establish the businesses in their names, enabling to deceive the authorities.

Saman and Ali also managed to secretly document one of those at the heart of the network, who asserted that he could erase official fines of up to £60,000 faced those hiring unauthorized employees.

"I sought to play a role in exposing these unlawful practices [...] to declare that they do not speak for our community," states one reporter, a former refugee applicant himself. The reporter came to the country illegally, having escaped from Kurdistan - a region that spans the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not globally acknowledged as a state - because his well-being was at risk.

The journalists acknowledge that tensions over illegal immigration are significant in the UK and state they have both been worried that the probe could intensify conflicts.

But the other reporter explains that the illegal working "harms the whole Kurdish-origin population" and he feels driven to "bring it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Furthermore, the journalist mentions he was worried the coverage could be used by the far-right.

He says this particularly struck him when he noticed that radical right activist Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom rally was occurring in London on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating undercover. Placards and flags could be seen at the protest, showing "we want our country returned".

The reporters have both been monitoring online feedback to the exposé from within the Kurdish population and explain it has sparked significant anger for some. One Facebook post they observed read: "How can we identify and find [the undercover reporters] to kill them like animals!"

A different demanded their relatives in Kurdistan to be harmed.

They have also seen allegations that they were spies for the UK government, and traitors to fellow Kurdish people. "We are not informants, and we have no intention of damaging the Kurdish-origin community," Saman explains. "Our aim is to uncover those who have damaged its image. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish identity and extremely worried about the activities of such individuals."

Most of those seeking refugee status claim they are fleeing politically motivated oppression, according to an expert from the a refugee support organization, a non-profit that helps asylum seekers and asylum seekers in the United Kingdom.

This was the case for our undercover reporter one investigator, who, when he first arrived to the United Kingdom, faced difficulties for many years. He states he had to live on under £20 a per week while his asylum claim was reviewed.

Refugee applicants now receive about forty-nine pounds a per week - or £9.95 if they are in shelter which includes meals, according to government policies.

"Honestly stating, this isn't enough to sustain a dignified lifestyle," explains Mr Avicil from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are generally prohibited from employment, he feels many are vulnerable to being exploited and are practically "forced to labor in the illegal market for as low as three pounds per hourly rate".

A representative for the Home Office said: "The government do not apologize for not granting refugee applicants the right to be employed - granting this would create an motivation for individuals to come to the UK illegally."

Asylum applications can require years to be decided with approximately a 33% requiring more than a year, according to government data from the end of March this current year.

The reporter explains working illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or convenience store would have been extremely easy to accomplish, but he informed the team he would not have done that.

Nonetheless, he states that those he interviewed employed in illegal convenience stores during his research seemed "disoriented", especially those whose asylum claim has been refused and who were in the legal challenge.

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

Ali acknowledges that these people seemed in dire straits.

"If [they] say you're forbidden to work - but also [you]