Why Our Team Went Undercover to Reveal Crime in the Kurdish-origin Population

A pair of Kurdish individuals consented to go undercover to reveal a operation behind illegal commercial businesses because the lawbreakers are negatively affecting the reputation of Kurds in the UK, they state.

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

Investigators found that a Kurdish crime network was operating mini-marts, barbershops and car washes across the UK, and wanted to discover more about how it functioned and who was participating.

Armed with secret cameras, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no authorization to be employed, seeking to acquire and run a small shop from which to trade illegal tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

They were able to discover how straightforward it is for a person in these situations to start and run a business on the commercial area in full view. The individuals participating, we found, compensate Kurdish individuals who have British citizenship to register the enterprises in their identities, enabling to fool the government agencies.

Ali and Saman also managed to discreetly film one of those at the heart of the network, who claimed that he could remove government fines of up to £60k faced those hiring unauthorized laborers.

"I aimed to play a role in revealing these illegal operations [...] to say that they don't represent our community," says Saman, a ex- refugee applicant personally. The reporter came to 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 state - because his life was at risk.

The investigators recognize that conflicts over illegal immigration are elevated in the United Kingdom and state they have both been anxious that the inquiry could inflame conflicts.

But Ali says that the unauthorized labor "harms the entire Kurdish community" and he considers obligated to "expose it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Furthermore, Ali says he was worried the publication could be used by the far-right.

He states this particularly struck him when he realized that radical right activist Tommy Robinson's national unity rally was happening in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was working secretly. Signs and banners could be spotted at the gathering, reading "we demand our country back".

Both journalists have both been observing online reaction to the inquiry from within the Kurdish community and report it has sparked significant outrage for certain individuals. One social media comment they observed said: "How can we identify and track [the undercover reporters] to attack them like animals!"

A different called for their relatives in the Kurdish region to be slaughtered.

They have also encountered claims that they were spies for the British government, and betrayers to other Kurds. "Both of us are not spies, and we have no aim of harming the Kurdish population," Saman states. "Our objective is to reveal those who have harmed its image. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish-origin identity and extremely concerned about the behavior of such persons."

Most of those applying for refugee status state they are escaping politically motivated oppression, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a non-profit that helps refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the scenario for our undercover journalist Saman, who, when he first came to the United Kingdom, experienced challenges for years. He explains he had to survive on less than £20 a week while his asylum claim was processed.

Refugee applicants now are provided about £49 a week - or £9.95 if they are in shelter which includes meals, according to official guidance.

"Honestly stating, this isn't sufficient to maintain a respectable life," says the expert from the the organization.

Because refugee applicants are mostly prohibited from working, he thinks a significant number are susceptible to being manipulated and are essentially "forced to labor in the unofficial market for as little as three pounds per hour".

A official for the Home Office commented: "We do not apologize for refusing to grant refugee applicants the right to work - doing so would generate an reason for people to migrate to the United Kingdom illegally."

Asylum cases can require multiple years to be resolved with almost a 33% taking over one year, according to official statistics from the end of March this current year.

Saman explains being employed illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or convenience store would have been extremely easy to do, but he told us he would never have participated in that.

Nonetheless, he explains that those he encountered laboring in unauthorized convenience stores during his investigation seemed "disoriented", notably those whose refugee application has been denied and who were in the legal challenge.

"They spent all their money to migrate to the UK, they had their asylum refused and now they've lost their entire investment."

The other reporter agrees that these people seemed desperate.

"If [they] declare you're forbidden to be employed - but additionally [you]