Why We Chose to Go Undercover to Uncover Criminal Activity in the Kurdish Population

A pair of Kurdish men agreed to operate secretly to uncover a network behind illegal main street establishments because the wrongdoers are causing harm the standing of Kurds in the Britain, they explain.

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

The team found that a Kurdish-linked criminal operation was managing small shops, barbershops and car washes across Britain, and sought to find out more about how it functioned and who was taking part.

Prepared with secret recording devices, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish asylum seekers with no right to be employed, seeking to buy and run a mini-mart from which to sell unlawful cigarettes and vapes.

The investigators were successful to reveal how straightforward it is for an individual in these situations to start and operate a commercial operation on the main street in public view. The individuals involved, we found, compensate Kurdish individuals who have UK residency to register the enterprises in their identities, helping to deceive the officials.

Ali and Saman also managed to covertly document one of those at the centre of the network, who claimed that he could remove official penalties of up to £60,000 imposed on those employing illegal workers.

"I wanted to participate in exposing these unlawful practices [...] to say that they don't speak for our community," states Saman, a ex- refugee applicant himself. Saman entered the UK without authorization, having escaped from Kurdistan - a region that straddles the borders of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not internationally recognised as a country - because his life was at danger.

The journalists recognize that disagreements over illegal migration are elevated in the United Kingdom and say they have both been concerned that the investigation could inflame tensions.

But Ali explains that the illegal working "harms the entire Kurdish-origin community" and he feels driven to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Additionally, the journalist explains he was anxious the reporting could be exploited by the radical right.

He states this especially impressed him when he realized that extreme right campaigner a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom march was taking place in London on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating covertly. Signs and flags could be spotted at the protest, displaying "we demand our country back".

Saman and Ali have both been monitoring social media response to the inquiry from within the Kurdish community and explain it has generated strong frustration for some. One social media comment they observed said: "In what way can we find and locate [the undercover reporters] to harm them like animals!"

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

They have also encountered claims that they were agents for the British government, and traitors to fellow Kurds. "We are not spies, and we have no aim of harming the Kurdish-origin population," Saman explains. "Our objective is to reveal those who have harmed its image. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish identity and extremely worried about the actions of such people."

The majority of those seeking refugee status claim they are fleeing politically motivated discrimination, according to an expert from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a non-profit that assists refugees and asylum seekers in the United Kingdom.

This was the case for our covert reporter one investigator, who, when he initially arrived to the UK, experienced challenges for years. He states he had to live on under twenty pounds a week while his asylum claim was processed.

Refugee applicants now are provided about £49 a per week - or £9.95 if they are in accommodation which offers food, according to Home Office guidance.

"Honestly stating, this is not enough to sustain a respectable life," explains Mr Avicil from the RWCA.

Because asylum seekers are largely prevented from employment, he feels a significant number are susceptible to being manipulated and are essentially "obligated to labor in the unofficial economy for as low as three pounds per hour".

A representative for the Home Office said: "We do not apologize for not granting asylum seekers the authorization to work - granting this would generate an incentive for people to come to the UK illegally."

Asylum applications can require a long time to be resolved with almost a 33% taking more than a year, according to official figures from the late March this current year.

Saman states being employed without authorization in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or convenience store would have been quite simple to achieve, but he explained to the team he would not have done that.

Nevertheless, he says that those he encountered laboring in illegal convenience stores during his research seemed "confused", especially those whose refugee application has been denied and who were in the legal challenge.

"They used their entire money to come to the UK, they had their asylum rejected and now they've sacrificed their entire investment."

Ali acknowledges that these people seemed hopeless.

"When [they] say you're forbidden to work - but simultaneously [you]