Why We Went Undercover to Uncover Crime in the Kurdish Community

Two Kurdish individuals decided to operate secretly to uncover a network behind illegal main street enterprises because the lawbreakers are damaging the reputation of Kurdish people in the Britain, they explain.

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

Investigators uncovered that a Kurdish-linked crime network was running mini-marts, hair salons and car washes the length of the UK, and wanted to learn more about how it operated and who was participating.

Armed with secret recording devices, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no permission to work, seeking to purchase and manage a mini-mart from which to distribute contraband tobacco products and vapes.

The investigators were able to discover how simple it is for an individual in these situations to set up and run a business on the High Street in full view. Those participating, we discovered, compensate Kurds who have UK citizenship to legally establish the businesses in their identities, enabling to mislead the authorities.

Ali and Saman also managed to secretly record one of those at the centre of the organization, who claimed that he could eliminate government fines of up to £60k encountered those hiring illegal employees.

"Personally wanted to contribute in uncovering these unlawful operations [...] to loudly proclaim that they do not speak for our community," states Saman, a ex- refugee applicant personally. The reporter came to the United Kingdom illegally, having escaped from the Kurdish region - a territory that covers the boundaries of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not globally acknowledged as a nation - because his well-being was at threat.

The investigators recognize that tensions over illegal migration are elevated in the UK and state they have both been anxious that the investigation could intensify conflicts.

But Ali states that the illegal labor "damages the whole Kurdish-origin community" and he considers obligated to "expose it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Additionally, the journalist says he was concerned the coverage could be exploited by the far-right.

He says this notably impressed him when he discovered that far-right campaigner a prominent activist's national unity protest was taking place in the capital on one of the weekends he was working undercover. Signs and flags could be spotted at the rally, displaying "we demand our country returned".

Both journalists have both been monitoring online response to the exposé from within the Kurdish-origin population and explain it has generated strong frustration for certain individuals. One Facebook comment they spotted read: "How can we locate and find [the undercover reporters] to attack them like animals!"

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

They have also encountered accusations that they were informants for the UK authorities, and betrayers to other Kurdish people. "We are not spies, and we have no aim of hurting the Kurdish community," Saman states. "Our goal is to expose those who have damaged its reputation. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish identity and extremely troubled about the behavior of such people."

The majority of those seeking refugee status say they are fleeing political discrimination, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a refugee support organization, a charity that assists refugees and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the scenario for our undercover reporter one investigator, who, when he initially came to the UK, struggled for many years. He explains he had to live on under £20 a week while his asylum claim was considered.

Asylum seekers now are provided about forty-nine pounds a week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in accommodation which includes food, according to official guidance.

"Practically stating, this isn't sufficient to support a acceptable existence," states Mr Avicil from the RWCA.

Because asylum seekers are mostly restricted from employment, he believes numerous are susceptible to being manipulated and are essentially "compelled to work in the unofficial economy for as low as three pounds per hourly rate".

A official for the authorities commented: "We make no apology for not granting asylum seekers the permission to work - doing so would generate an motivation for people to travel to the UK illegally."

Refugee cases can take multiple years to be processed with approximately a 33% requiring more than a year, according to government statistics from the end of March this current year.

The reporter says working without authorization in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or convenience store would have been quite simple to achieve, but he told us he would not have engaged in that.

Nevertheless, he states that those he interviewed employed in unauthorized mini-marts during his work seemed "lost", particularly those whose asylum claim has been denied and who were in the legal challenge.

"They spent all their money to travel to the UK, they had their asylum refused and now they've sacrificed everything."

The other reporter concurs that these individuals seemed hopeless.

"If [they] state you're prohibited to work - but simultaneously [you]