Why We Chose to Go Undercover to Expose Crime in the Kurdish-origin Community

A pair of Kurdish-background individuals consented to work covertly to uncover a network behind unlawful main street establishments because the lawbreakers are negatively affecting the standing of Kurds in the United Kingdom, they explain.

The two, who we are calling Saman and Ali, are Kurdish journalists who have both lived legally in the UK for a long time.

The team found that a Kurdish-linked crime network was running convenience stores, barbershops and car washes throughout Britain, and aimed to learn more about how it functioned and who was taking part.

Equipped with hidden cameras, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no authorization to work, seeking to buy and manage a small shop from which to trade unlawful cigarettes and vapes.

The investigators were able to uncover how simple it is for someone in these situations to start and operate a commercial operation on the commercial area in public view. The individuals participating, we found, compensate Kurds who have UK residency to register the operations in their names, enabling to deceive the government agencies.

Ali and Saman also managed to discreetly document one of those at the core of the network, who claimed that he could eliminate government penalties of up to sixty thousand pounds encountered those using unauthorized workers.

"I aimed to contribute in uncovering these unlawful practices [...] to say that they don't represent us," states Saman, a former asylum seeker personally. The reporter came to the country illegally, having fled Kurdistan - a region that covers the boundaries of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not globally acknowledged as a nation - because his life was at danger.

The journalists recognize that tensions over unauthorized migration are elevated in the United Kingdom and state they have both been anxious that the investigation could intensify conflicts.

But Ali says that the unauthorized labor "damages the entire Kurdish-origin community" and he considers compelled to "bring it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Additionally, the journalist mentions he was concerned the coverage could be used by the radical right.

He says this particularly affected him when he realized that extreme right campaigner a prominent activist's national unity march was occurring in London on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was working covertly. Signs and banners could be observed at the protest, reading "we want our nation back".

The reporters have both been monitoring social media response to the investigation from inside the Kurdish-origin community and report it has sparked strong outrage for certain individuals. One Facebook comment they spotted read: "In what way can we find and track [the undercover reporters] to harm them like dogs!"

A different urged their families in Kurdistan to be harmed.

They have also read claims that they were informants for the UK government, and traitors to other Kurdish people. "We are not informants, and we have no intention of damaging the Kurdish community," one reporter states. "Our aim is to reveal those who have compromised its reputation. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish-origin identity and deeply worried about the actions of such individuals."

The majority of those seeking refugee status claim they are fleeing political oppression, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a refugee support organization, a charity that assists asylum seekers and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the case for our covert reporter Saman, who, when he initially arrived to the UK, faced difficulties for years. He states he had to survive on under twenty pounds a week while his refugee application was reviewed.

Refugee applicants now are provided approximately forty-nine pounds a per week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in housing which includes food, according to government guidance.

"Realistically speaking, this isn't enough to sustain a respectable life," says Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because refugee applicants are generally prevented from working, he feels many are open to being exploited and are essentially "compelled to work in the illegal economy for as low as three pounds per hourly rate".

A official for the government department stated: "The government make no apology for denying asylum seekers the right to work - granting this would establish an reason for individuals to travel to the United Kingdom illegally."

Asylum cases can take years to be resolved with approximately a third requiring over a year, according to official figures from the end of March this current year.

The reporter states being employed illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or mini-mart would have been extremely simple to accomplish, but he explained to us he would not have done that.

Nevertheless, he states that those he met employed in illegal mini-marts during his work seemed "confused", notably those whose asylum claim has been denied and who were in the appeals process.

"These individuals expended their entire funds to come to the UK, they had their refugee application refused and now they've forfeited everything."

Ali concurs that these people seemed hopeless.

"If [they] state you're not allowed to be employed - but also [you]