The Reasons We Went Covert to Expose Criminal Activity in the Kurdish Population

A pair of Kurdish men agreed to go undercover to uncover a organization behind unlawful commercial establishments because the lawbreakers are causing harm the image of Kurdish people in the UK, they explain.

The pair, who we are referring to as Saman and Ali, are Kurdish-origin journalists who have both resided lawfully in the UK for a long time.

Investigators uncovered that a Kurdish crime network was running mini-marts, barbershops and vehicle cleaning services throughout the United Kingdom, and sought 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 right to be employed, attempting to acquire and manage a small shop from which to sell contraband tobacco products and vapes.

The investigators were able to discover how straightforward it is for someone in these circumstances to set up and manage a commercial operation on the commercial area in plain sight. The individuals participating, we discovered, pay Kurds who have UK residency to legally establish the enterprises in their identities, helping to mislead the government agencies.

Ali and Saman also were able to covertly document one of those at the centre of the organization, who claimed that he could eliminate government fines of up to sixty thousand pounds encountered those hiring illegal employees.

"I aimed to play a role in exposing these unlawful activities [...] to declare that they don't speak for Kurdish people," explains one reporter, a former refugee applicant himself. The reporter entered the United Kingdom without authorization, having escaped from Kurdistan - a area that covers the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not internationally recognised as a nation - because his safety was at danger.

The investigators acknowledge that disagreements over unauthorized migration are high in the United Kingdom and say they have both been worried that the inquiry could inflame tensions.

But Ali says that the illegal working "harms the whole Kurdish population" and he believes driven to "expose it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Separately, the journalist mentions he was worried the reporting could be used by the radical right.

He says this particularly struck him when he discovered that extreme right activist a prominent activist's national unity march was taking place in London on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating covertly. Banners and banners could be spotted at the protest, showing "we want our country back".

The reporters have both been tracking social media reaction to the exposé from within the Kurdish-origin population and explain it has caused strong outrage for certain individuals. One social media message they observed said: "In what way can we find and locate [the undercover reporters] to harm them like dogs!"

A different demanded their relatives in the Kurdish region to be harmed.

They have also read accusations that they were spies for the UK authorities, and traitors to fellow Kurdish people. "We are not spies, and we have no aim of damaging the Kurdish community," Saman explains. "Our aim is to reveal those who have damaged its reputation. We are honored of our Kurdish-origin heritage and deeply concerned about the behavior of such people."

The majority of those applying for refugee status claim they are escaping political persecution, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a refugee support organization, a charity that helps refugees and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the situation for our covert reporter Saman, who, when he first came to the UK, experienced challenges for years. He explains he had to live on under £20 a week while his asylum claim was considered.

Asylum seekers now receive approximately forty-nine pounds a week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in shelter which includes food, according to government regulations.

"Honestly saying, this isn't enough to sustain a acceptable existence," explains Mr Avicil from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are largely restricted from working, he believes a significant number are susceptible to being exploited and are essentially "compelled to labor in the black sector for as low as three pounds per hourly rate".

A spokesperson for the government department stated: "We do not apologize for not granting asylum seekers the right to work - doing so would create an motivation for people to travel to the UK illegally."

Asylum cases can take years to be resolved with nearly a 33% taking more than one year, according to official statistics from the end of March this year.

Saman says working illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, hair salon or mini-mart would have been quite simple to achieve, but he explained to the team he would not have participated in that.

Nonetheless, he says that those he interviewed working in illegal convenience stores during his investigation seemed "disoriented", especially those whose asylum claim has been refused and who were in the appeals process.

"These individuals expended all of their savings to travel to the UK, they had their refugee application denied and now they've forfeited their entire investment."

The other reporter acknowledges that these individuals seemed desperate.

"If [they] declare you're forbidden to work - but simultaneously [you]