Why We Went Covert to Expose Criminal Activity in the Kurdish-origin Population

A pair of Kurdish-background individuals decided to go undercover to uncover a operation behind unlawful High Street enterprises because the criminals are negatively affecting the image of Kurdish people in the United Kingdom, they explain.

The two, who we are calling Saman and Ali, are Kurdish investigators who have both lived lawfully in the United Kingdom for a long time.

Investigators uncovered that a Kurdish-linked illegal enterprise was managing mini-marts, hair salons and car washes the length of the United Kingdom, and wanted to find out more about how it worked and who was taking part.

Armed with secret cameras, Ali and Saman posed as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no right to work, seeking to acquire and operate a mini-mart from which to sell illegal cigarettes and vapes.

They were able to reveal how simple it is for a person in these conditions to establish and operate a commercial operation on the main street in plain sight. Those participating, we discovered, pay Kurds who have UK citizenship to legally establish the enterprises in their identities, helping to fool the authorities.

Ali and Saman also succeeded to secretly document one of those at the centre of the organization, who claimed that he could eliminate government penalties of up to £60,000 faced those using unauthorized employees.

"I wanted to play a role in exposing these unlawful practices [...] to declare that they don't represent Kurdish people," states one reporter, a former asylum seeker himself. Saman came to the UK illegally, having fled Kurdistan - a area that spans the borders of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not internationally recognised as a country - because his safety was at threat.

The investigators acknowledge that conflicts over illegal immigration are high in the United Kingdom and state they have both been worried that the inquiry could inflame hostilities.

But the other reporter states that the unauthorized working "negatively affects the whole Kurdish-origin population" and he believes compelled to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Furthermore, Ali says he was anxious the publication could be used by the extreme right.

He says this especially impressed him when he discovered that far-right activist a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom rally was happening in the capital on one of the weekends he was operating covertly. Signs and flags could be spotted at the protest, reading "we demand our country back".

The reporters have both been tracking online feedback to the exposé from within the Kurdish-origin population and report it has sparked strong outrage for some. One Facebook comment they found said: "How can we find and find [the undercover reporters] to harm them like animals!"

One more demanded their relatives in Kurdistan to be harmed.

They have also encountered allegations that they were agents for the British authorities, and betrayers to other Kurds. "We are not spies, and we have no desire of harming the Kurdish-origin community," one reporter states. "Our goal is to reveal those who have harmed its reputation. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish identity and deeply troubled about the actions of such individuals."

The majority of those seeking refugee status state they are fleeing politically motivated persecution, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a charitable organization, a non-profit that supports asylum seekers and refugee applicants in the United Kingdom.

This was the situation for our covert journalist one investigator, who, when he initially arrived to the UK, experienced challenges for many years. He says he had to live on under twenty pounds a week while his asylum claim was considered.

Asylum seekers now get approximately £49 a week - or £9.95 if they are in shelter which offers food, according to official guidance.

"Practically saying, this isn't adequate to support a respectable lifestyle," says the expert from the the organization.

Because refugee applicants are largely prohibited from working, he thinks many are susceptible to being manipulated and are essentially "forced to labor in the unofficial sector for as low as £3 per hour".

A spokesperson for the authorities commented: "The government make no apology for not granting asylum seekers the permission to be employed - granting this would create an incentive for people to travel to the United Kingdom illegally."

Refugee cases can require a long time to be decided with approximately a one-third requiring more than 12 months, according to official data from the end of March this current year.

Saman says being employed without authorization in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or mini-mart would have been extremely simple to accomplish, but he told the team he would never have engaged in that.

Nonetheless, he explains that those he interviewed laboring in illegal mini-marts during his research seemed "disoriented", notably those whose asylum claim has been rejected and who were in the legal challenge.

"These individuals used their entire savings to travel to the UK, they had their refugee application refused and now they've lost their entire investment."

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

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