The Reasons Our Team Went Covert to Uncover Crime in the Kurdish Community

A pair of Kurdish-background individuals decided to go undercover to expose a operation behind illegal High Street enterprises because the criminals are negatively affecting the standing of Kurdish people in the Britain, they state.

The two, who we are calling Saman and Ali, are Kurdish-origin investigators who have both resided legally in the UK for many years.

Investigators uncovered that a Kurdish-linked illegal enterprise was managing small shops, barbershops and vehicle cleaning services throughout the UK, and wanted to find out more about how it operated and who was participating.

Prepared with covert cameras, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no right to be employed, seeking to acquire and manage a convenience store from which to trade unlawful cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were successful to reveal how simple it is for a person in these situations to set up and run a business on the main street in public view. Those participating, we found, pay Kurds who have British citizenship to legally establish the businesses in their identities, enabling to deceive the officials.

Ali and Saman also were able to secretly record one of those at the centre of the operation, who asserted that he could eliminate government fines of up to £60,000 encountered those employing illegal workers.

"I wanted to play a role in revealing these illegal activities [...] to loudly proclaim that they don't speak for Kurdish people," states one reporter, a ex- refugee applicant himself. The reporter entered the country without authorization, having escaped from Kurdistan - a region that covers the boundaries of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not internationally recognised as a country - because his well-being was at threat.

The journalists acknowledge that conflicts over illegal immigration are high in the United Kingdom and state they have both been worried that the inquiry could intensify tensions.

But the other reporter explains that the unauthorized employment "damages the entire Kurdish-origin population" and he believes obligated to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Additionally, Ali explains he was concerned the reporting could be seized upon by the far-right.

He states this especially affected him when he realized that far-right campaigner a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom march was happening in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating covertly. Banners and banners could be spotted at the rally, reading "we demand our nation returned".

Both journalists have both been tracking online feedback to the investigation from within the Kurdish community and say it has sparked strong outrage for some. One Facebook message they observed stated: "In what way can we locate and track [the undercover reporters] to attack them like dogs!"

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

They have also read accusations that they were informants for the UK government, and betrayers to other Kurds. "We are not spies, and we have no aim of harming the Kurdish community," Saman explains. "Our goal is to expose those who have harmed its standing. We are honored of our Kurdish heritage and extremely worried about the activities of such individuals."

The majority of those seeking asylum state they are escaping political oppression, according to an expert from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a non-profit that assists asylum seekers and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the situation for our undercover reporter Saman, who, when he initially came to the United Kingdom, experienced challenges for many years. He says he had to live on under twenty pounds a per week while his asylum claim was considered.

Refugee applicants now receive approximately £49 a week - or £9.95 if they are in accommodation which provides food, according to Home Office guidance.

"Realistically stating, this is not enough to sustain a acceptable existence," explains the expert from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are mostly prohibited from working, he feels a significant number are vulnerable to being exploited and are essentially "compelled to labor in the unofficial economy for as low as £3 per hour".

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

Refugee cases can take a long time to be resolved with nearly a third requiring over a year, according to official data from the end of March this current year.

The reporter explains being employed illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or mini-mart would have been quite simple to achieve, but he explained to the team he would never have engaged in that.

However, he states that those he interviewed employed in illegal convenience stores during his investigation seemed "disoriented", especially those whose refugee application has been refused and who were in the appeals process.

"These individuals expended their entire funds to migrate to the UK, they had their asylum refused and now they've sacrificed their entire investment."

The other reporter concurs that these individuals seemed in dire straits.

"When [they] say you're not allowed to be employed - but simultaneously [you]