Why We Chose to Go Covert to Expose Crime in the Kurdish-origin Population

Two Kurdish men decided to go undercover to expose a organization behind unlawful High Street enterprises because the lawbreakers 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 reporters who have both lived legally in the UK for many years.

The team discovered that a Kurdish-linked illegal enterprise was operating convenience stores, hair salons and car washes throughout the UK, and sought to find out more about how it functioned and who was participating.

Equipped with hidden recording devices, Ali and Saman presented themselves as Kurdish refugee applicants with no authorization to be employed, attempting to buy and operate a small shop from which to distribute contraband cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

They were able to discover how simple it is for an individual in these situations to start and operate a enterprise on the main street in full view. Those participating, we found, pay Kurds who have UK residency to register the enterprises in their identities, assisting to mislead the officials.

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

"I sought to contribute in uncovering these illegal activities [...] to declare that they don't speak for our community," explains Saman, a former refugee applicant personally. Saman entered the UK without authorization, having fled Kurdistan - a area that covers the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not globally acknowledged as a nation - because his well-being was at threat.

The reporters admit that disagreements over illegal migration are significant in the United Kingdom and explain they have both been concerned that the probe could worsen conflicts.

But Ali says that the unauthorized employment "harms the whole Kurdish population" and he believes driven to "bring it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Additionally, Ali mentions he was anxious the publication could be used by the extreme right.

He states this particularly affected him when he discovered that radical right activist a prominent activist's national unity rally was occurring in London on one of the weekends he was operating undercover. Placards and flags could be observed at the rally, reading "we demand our country returned".

Both journalists have both been observing social media feedback to the exposé from within the Kurdish-origin population and say it has caused strong anger for certain individuals. One Facebook message they observed said: "In what way can we locate and track [the undercover reporters] to kill them like dogs!"

One more called for their families in the Kurdish region to be slaughtered.

They have also seen claims that they were spies for the UK authorities, and traitors to fellow Kurdish people. "We are not informants, and we have no desire of harming the Kurdish population," one reporter explains. "Our objective is to expose those who have compromised its image. We are honored of our Kurdish identity and deeply worried about the behavior of such individuals."

Most of those seeking asylum state they are fleeing political oppression, according to an expert from the a refugee support organization, a charity that helps asylum seekers and refugee applicants in the United Kingdom.

This was the scenario for our covert reporter one investigator, who, when he initially arrived to the UK, faced difficulties for many years. He states he had to live on under £20 a week while his refugee application was processed.

Refugee applicants now are provided about forty-nine pounds a week - or £9.95 if they are in shelter which offers meals, according to Home Office policies.

"Honestly saying, this is not enough to maintain a dignified life," states Mr Avicil from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are largely prohibited from working, he believes numerous are open to being manipulated and are practically "obligated to labor in the black market for as low as three pounds per hour".

A spokesperson for the government department commented: "We make no apology for not granting asylum seekers the right to be employed - doing so would establish an motivation for individuals to travel to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Asylum cases can take a long time to be processed with nearly a one-third requiring more than 12 months, according to government figures from the late March this current year.

Saman says working illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, hair salon or convenience store would have been very straightforward to do, but he informed us he would never have engaged in that.

However, he says that those he interviewed employed in illegal convenience stores during his investigation seemed "lost", notably those whose refugee application has been rejected and who were in the appeals process.

"These individuals used all of their funds to migrate to the UK, they had their asylum rejected and now they've forfeited their entire investment."

The other reporter concurs that these people seemed desperate.

"When [they] state you're forbidden to work - but additionally [you]