Why We Chose to Go Covert to Expose Criminal Activity in the Kurdish Population

Two Kurdish-background men agreed to work covertly to uncover a network behind unlawful High Street enterprises because the lawbreakers are damaging the standing of Kurds in the UK, they state.

The two, who we are calling Ali and Saman, are Kurdish journalists who have both resided legally in the United Kingdom for many years.

Investigators discovered that a Kurdish criminal operation was operating convenience stores, barbershops and vehicle cleaning services throughout the UK, and aimed to discover more about how it operated and who was taking part.

Equipped with covert recording devices, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no authorization to be employed, attempting to purchase and operate a convenience store from which to distribute illegal cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

They were successful to uncover how straightforward it is for a person in these conditions to start and manage a commercial operation on the High Street in full view. Those participating, we found, compensate Kurdish individuals who have UK residency to register the businesses in their names, enabling to fool the officials.

Ali and Saman also managed to discreetly document one of those at the heart of the organization, who asserted that he could remove official fines of up to £60,000 imposed on those using illegal workers.

"Personally wanted to play a role in uncovering these unlawful practices [...] to declare that they don't characterize Kurdish people," explains Saman, a ex- asylum seeker himself. Saman entered the country illegally, having fled the Kurdish region - a region that spans the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not internationally recognised as a state - because his well-being was at risk.

The investigators recognize that conflicts over illegal migration are significant in the United Kingdom and explain they have both been worried that the probe could inflame conflicts.

But Ali states that the unauthorized employment "negatively affects the entire Kurdish-origin population" and he considers compelled to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Separately, the journalist says he was anxious the coverage could be seized upon by the far-right.

He explains this notably affected him when he realized that far-right campaigner Tommy Robinson's national unity protest was taking place in London on one of the weekends he was working undercover. Signs and banners could be seen at the gathering, showing "we demand our country back".

Both journalists have both been observing social media feedback to the inquiry from inside the Kurdish population and say it has caused significant frustration for certain individuals. One Facebook message they found read: "In what way can we identify and locate [the undercover reporters] to harm them like dogs!"

One more called for their relatives in the Kurdish region to be slaughtered.

They have also read claims 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 harming the Kurdish population," one reporter says. "Our aim is to expose those who have harmed its image. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish-origin heritage and extremely concerned about the behavior of such individuals."

Most of those seeking asylum claim they are fleeing political oppression, according to an expert from the a charitable organization, a organization that assists refugees and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the situation for our covert journalist Saman, who, when he first arrived to the UK, faced difficulties for years. He says he had to live on under twenty pounds a per week while his refugee application was processed.

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

"Practically saying, this isn't sufficient to support a acceptable lifestyle," states the expert from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are largely prohibited from employment, he thinks many are open to being manipulated and are essentially "obligated to work in the illegal market for as little as three pounds per hourly rate".

A representative for the Home Office stated: "We make no apology for denying refugee applicants the authorization to work - doing so would create an motivation for individuals to travel to the United Kingdom illegally."

Asylum applications can take years to be processed with approximately a 33% taking over 12 months, according to government figures from the late March this current year.

The reporter says working illegally in a car wash, hair salon or convenience store would have been quite simple to accomplish, but he explained to the team he would never have engaged in that.

Nonetheless, he states that those he encountered working in illegal mini-marts during his research seemed "confused", particularly those whose asylum claim has been rejected and who were in the legal challenge.

"These individuals used all their funds to travel to the UK, they had their refugee application denied and now they've sacrificed all they had."

Ali agrees that these people seemed desperate.

"If [they] say you're forbidden to work - but additionally [you]