The Reasons We Went Covert to Expose Crime in the Kurdish Community

A pair of Kurdish-background men agreed to work covertly to expose a operation behind unlawful High Street businesses because the criminals are causing harm the image of Kurds in the UK, they explain.

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

Investigators uncovered that a Kurdish-linked criminal operation was running small shops, barbershops and vehicle cleaning services across the UK, and aimed to find out more about how it worked and who was involved.

Equipped with covert cameras, Ali and Saman posed as Kurdish asylum seekers with no right to be employed, looking to acquire and manage a mini-mart from which to trade contraband tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were able to uncover how straightforward it is for an individual in these circumstances to establish and run a enterprise on the commercial area in plain sight. The individuals involved, we found, pay Kurds who have UK citizenship to legally establish the operations in their identities, helping to deceive the government agencies.

Ali and Saman also managed to covertly record one of those at the heart of the organization, who stated that he could remove government penalties of up to £60,000 faced those employing unauthorized laborers.

"Personally wanted to participate in uncovering these illegal operations [...] to loudly proclaim that they do not characterize our community," says one reporter, a former asylum seeker personally. Saman entered the United Kingdom illegally, having escaped from Kurdistan - a region that straddles the borders of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not internationally recognised as a state - because his well-being was at threat.

The investigators acknowledge that tensions over illegal immigration are elevated in the UK and state they have both been worried that the inquiry could inflame tensions.

But the other reporter explains that the unauthorized labor "damages the entire Kurdish community" and he believes driven to "bring it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Additionally, Ali mentions he was anxious the coverage could be seized upon by the far-right.

He states this notably struck him when he realized that far-right activist a prominent activist's national unity rally was taking place in London on one of the weekends he was operating covertly. Placards and banners could be seen at the rally, reading "we demand our nation back".

Both journalists have both been monitoring social media reaction to the exposé from within the Kurdish population and explain it has caused significant frustration for certain individuals. One Facebook post they observed said: "In what way can we locate and locate [the undercover reporters] to kill them like dogs!"

Another called for their relatives in Kurdistan to be harmed.

They have also read claims that they were spies for the UK government, and traitors to fellow Kurds. "Both of us are not spies, and we have no aim of harming the Kurdish population," Saman explains. "Our aim is to reveal those who have compromised its reputation. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish-origin heritage and extremely worried about the activities of such people."

The majority of those applying for refugee status state they are fleeing political discrimination, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a charitable organization, a organization that supports refugees and asylum seekers in the United Kingdom.

This was the case for our undercover journalist Saman, who, when he first arrived to the United Kingdom, struggled for years. He says he had to survive on less than twenty pounds a week while his asylum claim was considered.

Refugee applicants now get approximately £49 a week - or £9.95 if they are in accommodation which provides meals, according to official regulations.

"Honestly speaking, this is not adequate to maintain a respectable lifestyle," explains the expert from the the organization.

Because asylum seekers are mostly prohibited from employment, he thinks many are open to being taken advantage of and are essentially "obligated to work in the black economy for as little as three pounds per hourly rate".

A spokesperson for the authorities said: "We make no apology for not granting refugee applicants the permission to work - granting this would establish an incentive for people to come to the United Kingdom illegally."

Asylum cases can require multiple years to be decided with nearly a one-third requiring over a year, according to government figures from the late March this year.

Saman says being employed illegally in a car wash, barbershop or convenience store would have been very easy to do, but he explained to us he would not have done that.

Nonetheless, he says that those he met working in unauthorized mini-marts during his work seemed "disoriented", notably those whose refugee application has been refused and who were in the appeals process.

"They used their entire savings to migrate to the UK, they had their refugee application refused and now they've lost everything."

Ali agrees that these people seemed hopeless.

"If [they] declare you're prohibited to work - but also [you]