Why We Went Undercover to Uncover Criminal Activity in the Kurdish-origin Community

Two Kurdish individuals consented to go undercover to expose a network behind unlawful main street businesses because the criminals are damaging the reputation of Kurdish people in the UK, they explain.

The pair, who we are calling Saman and Ali, are Kurdish investigators who have both lived lawfully in the UK for a long time.

The team discovered that a Kurdish-linked crime network was managing mini-marts, hair salons and vehicle cleaning services across Britain, and sought to discover more about how it worked and who was participating.

Armed with hidden cameras, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no right to be employed, seeking to purchase and operate a mini-mart from which to sell illegal cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were successful to uncover how simple it is for an individual in these circumstances to establish and run a business on the commercial area in plain sight. The individuals involved, we found, pay Kurds who have UK citizenship to legally establish the enterprises in their names, helping to mislead the authorities.

Ali and Saman also were able to covertly document one of those at the centre of the operation, who claimed that he could erase official fines of up to sixty thousand pounds encountered those employing illegal workers.

"I aimed to play a role in revealing these unlawful operations [...] to loudly proclaim that they don't speak for us," explains one reporter, a ex- asylum seeker personally. Saman entered the United Kingdom without authorization, having escaped from Kurdistan - a region that spans the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not globally acknowledged as a nation - because his safety was at risk.

The investigators admit that tensions over unauthorized migration are elevated in the United Kingdom and say they have both been concerned that the inquiry could worsen hostilities.

But Ali explains that the illegal employment "negatively affects the whole Kurdish-origin population" and he considers driven to "expose it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Additionally, Ali explains he was concerned the publication could be exploited by the far-right.

He states this notably impressed him when he realized that extreme right activist a prominent activist's national unity protest was occurring in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was working secretly. Signs and flags could be observed at the protest, displaying "we want our nation back".

The reporters have both been observing online feedback to the exposé from inside the Kurdish-origin population and say it has sparked strong outrage for certain individuals. One social media comment they observed read: "How can we find and track [the undercover reporters] to attack them like dogs!"

One more demanded their families in the Kurdish region to be harmed.

They have also read claims that they were agents for the UK authorities, and betrayers to other Kurds. "We are not spies, and we have no intention of harming the Kurdish community," one reporter states. "Our objective is to uncover those who have damaged its reputation. We are honored of our Kurdish identity and extremely worried about the activities of such individuals."

The majority of those applying for asylum state they are fleeing politically motivated persecution, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a charitable organization, a charity that assists refugees and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the case for our undercover journalist Saman, who, when he initially arrived to the UK, faced difficulties for years. He states he had to survive on under £20 a week while his asylum claim was reviewed.

Asylum seekers now receive approximately £49 a per week - or £9.95 if they are in housing which includes food, according to Home Office guidance.

"Practically speaking, this is not adequate to support a acceptable existence," says the expert from the RWCA.

Because asylum seekers are mostly prohibited from employment, he thinks a significant number are open to being taken advantage of and are effectively "obligated to labor in the unofficial economy for as little as £3 per hour".

A representative for the Home Office commented: "The government are unapologetic for refusing to grant asylum seekers the authorization to be employed - doing so would create an incentive for people to come to the UK illegally."

Refugee cases can require multiple years to be resolved with nearly a one-third taking more than 12 months, according to official data from the late March this year.

The reporter says working illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, hair salon or convenience store would have been quite simple to accomplish, but he informed the team he would never have participated in that.

However, he says that those he encountered laboring in unauthorized mini-marts during his work seemed "confused", particularly those whose asylum claim has been refused and who were in the appeals process.

"They spent all of their funds to travel to the UK, they had their asylum rejected and now they've forfeited all they had."

Ali agrees that these individuals seemed hopeless.

"When [they] say you're prohibited to work - but also [you]