The Reasons We Went Covert to Expose Crime in the Kurdish-origin Community

Two Kurdish-background individuals agreed to go undercover to expose a organization behind unlawful High Street businesses because the lawbreakers are damaging the reputation of Kurds in the UK, they explain.

The pair, who we are calling Ali and Saman, are Kurdish journalists who have both lived lawfully in the UK for years.

The team found that a Kurdish criminal operation was managing convenience stores, barbershops and vehicle cleaning services across the UK, and aimed to learn more about how it worked and who was involved.

Armed with hidden recording devices, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no authorization to be employed, attempting to acquire and operate a mini-mart from which to trade unlawful cigarettes and vapes.

They were able to discover how easy it is for an individual in these conditions to establish and run a business on the main street in plain sight. Those participating, we found, compensate Kurds who have UK residency to register the businesses in their names, helping to fool the government agencies.

Saman and Ali also managed to covertly film one of those at the core of the organization, who stated that he could remove government penalties of up to £60k faced those using illegal employees.

"I wanted to participate in uncovering these illegal operations [...] to declare that they don't speak for Kurdish people," states one reporter, a ex- asylum seeker himself. The reporter entered the country without authorization, having escaped from the Kurdish region - a territory that spans the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not officially recognized as a state - because his safety was at threat.

The investigators acknowledge that conflicts over unauthorized migration are high in the United Kingdom and state they have both been worried that the investigation could worsen tensions.

But Ali says that the unauthorized employment "negatively affects the entire Kurdish community" and he feels driven to "bring it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Separately, Ali explains he was anxious the coverage could be used by the far-right.

He says this notably struck him when he realized that extreme right campaigner a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom rally was occurring in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating covertly. Placards and flags could be observed at the protest, showing "we want our nation back".

Both journalists have both been observing social media response to the investigation from within the Kurdish-origin population and report it has caused intense anger for certain individuals. One Facebook message they spotted stated: "How can we find and locate [the undercover reporters] to kill them like animals!"

One more urged their families in Kurdistan to be attacked.

They have also encountered accusations that they were informants for the UK authorities, and traitors to fellow Kurds. "Both of us are not spies, and we have no aim of damaging the Kurdish community," one reporter states. "Our goal is to expose those who have compromised its reputation. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish heritage and deeply concerned about the actions of such people."

The majority of those applying for refugee status claim they are escaping political persecution, according to an expert from the a charitable organization, a non-profit that assists refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the situation for our covert reporter Saman, who, when he initially arrived to the UK, experienced challenges for many years. He explains he had to survive on less than twenty pounds a week while his refugee application was considered.

Asylum seekers now receive about £49 a week - or £9.95 if they are in accommodation which provides meals, according to Home Office policies.

"Honestly stating, this is not enough to maintain a respectable lifestyle," says the expert from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are largely prohibited from working, he feels a significant number are vulnerable to being taken advantage of and are essentially "compelled to labor in the black economy for as little as £3 per hourly rate".

A official for the government department stated: "The government do not apologize for not granting refugee applicants the permission to work - granting this would generate an motivation for people to travel to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Asylum applications can require a long time to be processed with almost a 33% taking over one year, according to official statistics from the end of March this current year.

The reporter states working without authorization in a car wash, hair salon or mini-mart would have been very straightforward to achieve, but he explained to us he would never have done that.

However, he says that those he met working in illegal convenience stores during his work seemed "confused", especially those whose asylum claim has been rejected and who were in the appeals process.

"These individuals spent their entire savings to travel to the United Kingdom, they had their refugee application denied and now they've forfeited all they had."

Ali agrees that these people seemed desperate.

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