The Reasons We Went Covert to Expose Criminal Activity in the Kurdish Community

A pair of Kurdish men agreed to work covertly to reveal a operation behind illegal commercial establishments because the wrongdoers are damaging the standing of Kurds in the UK, they state.

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

The team uncovered that a Kurdish-linked criminal operation was operating mini-marts, barbershops and car washes across the United Kingdom, and wanted to discover more about how it operated and who was taking part.

Prepared with covert cameras, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish refugee applicants with no authorization to be employed, attempting to acquire and run a small shop from which to sell unlawful cigarettes and vapes.

The investigators were successful to uncover how easy it is for someone in these circumstances to establish and manage a commercial operation on the main street in plain sight. Those involved, we found, pay Kurds who have UK citizenship to register the enterprises in their names, enabling to fool the authorities.

Saman and Ali also were able to secretly record one of those at the heart of the organization, who asserted that he could remove official fines of up to sixty thousand pounds faced those hiring illegal laborers.

"I aimed to participate in exposing these unlawful practices [...] to declare that they don't represent our community," says one reporter, a ex- refugee applicant personally. Saman entered the United Kingdom illegally, having escaped from the Kurdish region - a region that straddles the boundaries of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not officially recognized as a country - because his well-being was at danger.

The journalists recognize that conflicts over illegal immigration are elevated in the United Kingdom and explain they have both been anxious that the probe could worsen conflicts.

But the other reporter says that the unauthorized labor "negatively affects the whole Kurdish-origin community" and he considers compelled to "bring it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Separately, the journalist says he was worried the coverage could be exploited by the radical right.

He states this especially struck him when he realized that extreme right activist Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom protest was taking place in the capital on one of the weekends he was operating undercover. Signs and flags could be spotted at the rally, showing "we want our country returned".

The reporters have both been observing online reaction to the investigation from within the Kurdish community and report it has sparked significant anger for some. One social media post they spotted said: "How can we find and find [the undercover reporters] to harm them like dogs!"

A different demanded their relatives in the Kurdish region to be attacked.

They have also encountered allegations that they were spies for the British authorities, and betrayers to other Kurds. "Both of us are not spies, and we have no intention of hurting the Kurdish-origin population," Saman explains. "Our goal is to expose those who have damaged its standing. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish-origin heritage and deeply troubled about the activities of such persons."

Most of those applying for asylum claim they are fleeing politically motivated oppression, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a charitable organization, a non-profit that assists refugees and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the case for our covert journalist one investigator, who, when he initially arrived to the UK, experienced challenges for many years. He explains he had to live on under twenty pounds a per week while his refugee application was reviewed.

Refugee applicants now get approximately forty-nine pounds a per week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in housing which includes meals, according to official guidance.

"Realistically saying, this is not enough to sustain a dignified existence," states Mr Avicil from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are mostly restricted from employment, he thinks numerous are open to being exploited and are effectively "obligated to work in the illegal sector for as little as £3 per hour".

A spokesperson for the Home Office commented: "We do not apologize for refusing to grant refugee applicants the right to be employed - doing so would create an motivation for individuals to travel to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Refugee applications can require a long time to be resolved with approximately a 33% requiring over a year, according to official data from the end of March this current year.

The reporter states working without authorization in a car wash, hair salon or convenience store would have been extremely straightforward to accomplish, but he explained to the team he would never have participated in that.

Nevertheless, he explains that those he interviewed employed in unauthorized mini-marts during his investigation seemed "lost", particularly those whose refugee application has been refused and who were in the appeals process.

"They expended all of their savings to come to the UK, they had their asylum refused and now they've sacrificed all they had."

The other reporter agrees that these people seemed in dire straits.

"When [they] say you're forbidden to be employed - but also [you]