The Reasons We Went Covert to Uncover Criminal Activity in the Kurdish Community

Two Kurdish-background men agreed to work covertly to expose a network behind unlawful commercial establishments because the wrongdoers are negatively affecting the image of Kurdish people in the UK, they state.

The two, who we are referring to as Ali and Saman, are Kurdish-origin investigators who have both lived lawfully in the United Kingdom for many years.

Investigators discovered that a Kurdish crime network was operating small shops, barbershops and car washes the length of Britain, and sought to discover more about how it worked and who was participating.

Prepared with covert cameras, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no permission to be employed, seeking to buy and run a mini-mart from which to distribute contraband cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were able to reveal how easy it is for an individual in these conditions to start and run a business on the main street in plain sight. The individuals involved, we found, compensate Kurdish individuals who have British citizenship to legally establish the operations in their identities, assisting to mislead the authorities.

Saman and Ali also managed to discreetly document one of those at the core of the network, who stated that he could erase official penalties of up to sixty thousand pounds imposed on those using illegal employees.

"Personally wanted to play a role in exposing these unlawful practices [...] to declare that they do not represent us," explains one reporter, a former refugee applicant himself. The reporter entered the UK without authorization, having escaped from the Kurdish region - a region that straddles the borders of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not internationally recognised as a state - because his safety was at risk.

The investigators recognize that conflicts over illegal migration are significant in the United Kingdom and explain they have both been anxious that the inquiry could worsen tensions.

But Ali says that the illegal employment "harms the whole Kurdish-origin population" and he considers compelled to "expose it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Furthermore, Ali mentions he was anxious the publication could be seized upon by the extreme right.

He says this especially impressed him when he discovered that far-right activist Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom march was taking place in London on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was working undercover. Signs and flags could be observed at the protest, showing "we demand our country returned".

The reporters have both been tracking online feedback to the investigation from inside the Kurdish population and say it has sparked intense anger for certain individuals. One social media comment they found said: "How can we identify and find [the undercover reporters] to attack them like dogs!"

A different called for their relatives in Kurdistan to be attacked.

They have also encountered accusations that they were spies for the UK authorities, and betrayers to other Kurdish people. "Both of us are not informants, and we have no intention of harming the Kurdish-origin community," one reporter explains. "Our objective is to expose those who have damaged its image. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish heritage and profoundly concerned about the activities of such individuals."

The majority of those applying for refugee status say they are escaping 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 scenario for our undercover reporter Saman, who, when he initially came to the UK, experienced challenges for many years. He says he had to live on under twenty pounds a week while his asylum claim was considered.

Refugee applicants now receive approximately £49 a per week - or £9.95 if they are in shelter which provides meals, according to Home Office regulations.

"Realistically speaking, this is not sufficient to support a dignified lifestyle," says Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because asylum seekers are generally prevented from working, he believes a significant number are susceptible to being manipulated and are practically "obligated to work in the illegal market for as little as £3 per hourly rate".

A spokesperson for the authorities said: "We do not apologize for denying asylum seekers the authorization to work - granting this would establish an reason for people to come to the United Kingdom illegally."

Refugee applications can require years to be processed with almost a third taking over one year, according to government statistics from the end of March this current year.

Saman states working illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, hair salon or convenience store would have been extremely simple to do, but he informed the team he would never have done that.

Nonetheless, he states that those he interviewed employed in unauthorized mini-marts during his research seemed "lost", especially those whose refugee application has been denied and who were in the appeal stage.

"They expended their entire funds to come to the UK, they had their asylum refused and now they've forfeited everything."

Ali acknowledges that these people seemed hopeless.

"If [they] state you're prohibited to be employed - but also [you]