Why We Went Undercover to Reveal Crime in the Kurdish-origin Population

Two Kurdish-background men agreed to operate secretly to reveal a organization behind illegal main street establishments because the wrongdoers are negatively affecting the image of Kurds in the UK, they explain.

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

The team discovered that a Kurdish crime network was running convenience stores, barbershops and vehicle cleaning services throughout Britain, and wanted to learn more about how it functioned and who was involved.

Prepared with secret recording devices, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no authorization to work, attempting to acquire and manage a mini-mart from which to sell contraband tobacco products and vapes.

The investigators were successful to discover how easy it is for an individual in these conditions to set up and manage a commercial operation on the High Street in plain sight. The individuals participating, we found, compensate Kurds who have UK citizenship to register the enterprises in their identities, enabling to fool the government agencies.

Saman and Ali also managed to secretly record one of those at the core of the network, who stated that he could erase government fines of up to £60k faced those hiring unauthorized employees.

"Personally wanted to contribute in revealing these illegal practices [...] to say that they don't characterize our community," says one reporter, a ex- asylum seeker personally. Saman came to the UK illegally, having fled the Kurdish region - a region that straddles the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not officially recognized as a state - because his life was at threat.

The investigators acknowledge that tensions over illegal migration are high in the UK and state they have both been anxious that the probe could worsen conflicts.

But the other reporter says that the illegal working "damages the whole Kurdish population" and he feels driven to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Additionally, Ali explains he was anxious the reporting could be exploited by the radical right.

He states this particularly affected him when he noticed that far-right campaigner a prominent activist's national unity rally was happening in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating secretly. Placards and banners could be seen at the rally, showing "we want our nation back".

Saman and Ali have both been monitoring online reaction to the investigation from inside the Kurdish community and say it has generated intense outrage for some. One Facebook post they observed read: "In what way can we locate and locate [the undercover reporters] to attack them like dogs!"

Another urged their relatives in Kurdistan to be slaughtered.

They have also encountered allegations that they were spies for the British government, and traitors to fellow Kurdish people. "We are not informants, and we have no intention of hurting the Kurdish population," one reporter says. "Our goal is to uncover those who have harmed its reputation. We are proud of our Kurdish heritage and extremely concerned about the actions of such people."

The majority of those applying for refugee status state they are escaping politically motivated oppression, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a refugee support organization, a charity that assists refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the scenario for our undercover journalist one investigator, who, when he initially arrived to the United Kingdom, struggled for years. He says he had to live 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 shelter which provides meals, according to government guidance.

"Practically stating, this isn't adequate to support a dignified life," says Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because refugee applicants are largely prohibited from working, he believes numerous are vulnerable to being taken advantage of and are essentially "forced to labor in the black market for as little as three pounds per hour".

A representative for the authorities stated: "We make no apology for refusing to grant refugee applicants the authorization to work - granting this would establish an incentive for people to travel to the United Kingdom illegally."

Asylum cases can take multiple years to be resolved with approximately a 33% requiring over one year, according to official figures from the spring this year.

Saman says working without authorization in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or mini-mart would have been quite straightforward to accomplish, but he informed us he would not have done that.

However, he explains that those he interviewed working in illegal mini-marts during his work seemed "lost", especially those whose refugee application has been denied and who were in the legal challenge.

"They spent all of their money to travel to the United Kingdom, they had their refugee application denied and now they've sacrificed everything."

The other reporter concurs that these individuals seemed desperate.

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