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

Two Kurdish men agreed to go undercover to expose a organization behind unlawful High Street enterprises because the wrongdoers are negatively affecting the reputation of Kurdish people in the UK, they state.

The pair, who we are referring to as Saman and Ali, are Kurdish reporters who have both lived lawfully in the UK for many years.

The team found that a Kurdish criminal operation was operating convenience stores, hair salons and vehicle cleaning services throughout the UK, and wanted to discover more about how it operated and who was taking part.

Armed with secret cameras, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish asylum seekers with no right to be employed, seeking to buy and manage a mini-mart from which to trade unlawful cigarettes and vapes.

They were successful to uncover how straightforward it is for a person in these situations to set up and manage a commercial operation on the High Street in full view. Those involved, we learned, compensate Kurds who have UK citizenship to legally establish the enterprises in their identities, enabling to deceive the government agencies.

Ali and Saman also were able to secretly document one of those at the centre of the operation, who stated that he could remove government sanctions of up to £60,000 imposed on those using illegal laborers.

"Personally wanted to play a role in revealing these illegal activities [...] to say that they do not speak for us," explains Saman, a former asylum seeker himself. Saman came to the United Kingdom without authorization, having escaped from Kurdistan - a region that spans the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not internationally recognised as a nation - because his safety was at threat.

The journalists acknowledge that conflicts over illegal immigration are elevated in the UK and state they have both been anxious that the inquiry could intensify tensions.

But the other reporter states that the illegal working "negatively affects the entire Kurdish-origin population" and he feels compelled to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Separately, Ali mentions he was concerned the reporting could be seized upon by the radical right.

He says this notably affected him when he noticed that radical right activist a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom rally was taking place in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was working undercover. Signs and banners could be seen at the rally, showing "we demand our nation returned".

Saman and Ali have both been observing online feedback to the investigation from inside the Kurdish-origin population and report it has caused intense frustration for some. One Facebook comment they spotted stated: "How can we find and find [the undercover reporters] to kill them like animals!"

A different urged their families in the Kurdish region to be harmed.

They have also encountered allegations that they were informants for the British government, and betrayers to other Kurds. "Both of us are not informants, and we have no desire of damaging the Kurdish population," Saman explains. "Our goal is to expose those who have harmed its image. We are proud of our Kurdish-origin heritage and deeply concerned about the actions of such individuals."

Most of those applying for asylum claim they are escaping politically motivated persecution, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a refugee support organization, a non-profit that assists refugees and refugee applicants in the United Kingdom.

This was the scenario for our covert reporter Saman, who, when he first arrived to the UK, struggled for many years. He explains he had to survive on under twenty pounds a per week while his asylum claim was processed.

Refugee applicants now get about £49 a week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in housing which provides food, according to official policies.

"Realistically speaking, this isn't adequate to sustain a respectable lifestyle," says Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because asylum seekers are generally prevented from working, he feels many are open to being manipulated and are essentially "compelled to labor in the black market for as low as £3 per hourly rate".

A spokesperson for the authorities commented: "The government do not apologize for denying refugee applicants the permission to work - granting this would generate an motivation for individuals to come to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Refugee cases can require years to be processed with almost a one-third taking over 12 months, according to official data from the late March this current year.

Saman states working illegally in a car wash, barbershop or convenience store would have been extremely simple to achieve, but he informed us he would never have done that.

Nevertheless, he explains that those he interviewed laboring in illegal mini-marts during his work seemed "confused", particularly those whose refugee application has been denied and who were in the appeal stage.

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

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

"When [they] say you're prohibited to be employed - but simultaneously [you]