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

Two Kurdish men consented to work covertly to reveal a organization behind illegal High Street establishments because the wrongdoers are negatively affecting the image of Kurdish people in the United Kingdom, they state.

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

The team uncovered that a Kurdish-linked criminal operation was managing mini-marts, hair salons and vehicle cleaning services the length of Britain, and aimed to learn more about how it functioned and who was taking part.

Prepared with secret recording devices, Ali and Saman posed as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no permission to work, seeking to purchase and manage a small shop from which to trade contraband tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were able to discover how straightforward it is for a person in these conditions to start and manage a enterprise on the High Street in public view. The individuals participating, we discovered, pay Kurds who have UK residency to legally establish the enterprises in their names, helping to deceive the officials.

Saman and Ali also were able to discreetly record one of those at the heart of the operation, who claimed that he could erase government penalties of up to £60k imposed on those employing unauthorized employees.

"I sought to play a role in exposing these unlawful activities [...] to loudly proclaim that they do not characterize Kurdish people," states Saman, a ex- refugee applicant personally. Saman came to the UK without authorization, having fled Kurdistan - a region that straddles the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not officially recognized as a nation - because his safety was at threat.

The reporters recognize that disagreements over unauthorized immigration are significant in the United Kingdom and explain they have both been concerned that the inquiry could intensify tensions.

But Ali states that the illegal employment "negatively affects the entire Kurdish population" and he believes driven to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Additionally, Ali explains he was concerned the publication could be seized upon by the radical right.

He explains this especially struck him when he realized that extreme right activist Tommy Robinson's national unity march was occurring in London on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating covertly. Banners and flags could be spotted at the gathering, displaying "we want our nation back".

Saman and Ali have both been observing online response to the inquiry from inside the Kurdish community and say it has sparked intense outrage for some. One social media message they found stated: "How can we identify and locate [the undercover reporters] to kill them like dogs!"

Another urged their families in the Kurdish region to be slaughtered.

They have also seen claims that they were agents for the British authorities, and traitors to other Kurdish people. "We are not informants, and we have no aim of damaging the Kurdish community," Saman says. "Our objective is to expose those who have damaged its reputation. We are honored of our Kurdish identity and deeply concerned about the activities of such people."

Most of those seeking asylum claim they are escaping politically motivated persecution, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a organization that assists refugees and refugee applicants in the United Kingdom.

This was the scenario for our undercover journalist one investigator, who, when he initially arrived to the UK, faced difficulties for years. He says he had to live on less than twenty pounds a week while his refugee application was processed.

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

"Practically speaking, this isn't enough to maintain a acceptable lifestyle," says the expert from the the organization.

Because refugee applicants are generally restricted from working, he feels numerous are vulnerable to being exploited and are essentially "obligated to labor in the unofficial sector for as little as three pounds per hour".

A representative for the government department commented: "The government are unapologetic for denying refugee applicants the permission to be employed - granting this would generate an reason for people to migrate to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Refugee cases can take a long time to be resolved with almost a third taking more than a year, according to government data from the spring this year.

Saman states being employed illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, hair salon or mini-mart would have been quite straightforward to accomplish, but he told the team he would not have done that.

However, he says that those he encountered laboring in unauthorized convenience stores during his investigation seemed "lost", notably those whose asylum claim has been refused and who were in the legal challenge.

"These individuals used all of their savings to come to the United Kingdom, they had their refugee application denied and now they've forfeited their entire investment."

The other reporter concurs that these people seemed desperate.

"When [they] declare you're not allowed to work - but additionally [you]