Why Our Team Went Undercover to Uncover Criminal Activity in the Kurdish Community

A pair of Kurdish-background individuals decided to go undercover to reveal a network behind unlawful commercial enterprises because the wrongdoers are damaging the standing of Kurds in the United Kingdom, they say.

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

The team found that a Kurdish-linked illegal enterprise was running small shops, barbershops and car washes the length of the UK, and wanted to find out more about how it worked and who was participating.

Prepared with covert recording devices, Ali and Saman posed as Kurdish refugee applicants with no authorization to be employed, seeking to purchase and run a convenience store from which to sell illegal cigarettes and vapes.

They were successful to reveal how straightforward it is for someone in these conditions to set up and operate a business on the main street in plain sight. Those involved, we discovered, compensate Kurds who have UK residency to legally establish the businesses in their identities, enabling to fool the officials.

Ali and Saman also succeeded to discreetly record one of those at the centre of the operation, who stated that he could remove government penalties of up to £60k faced those employing unauthorized laborers.

"Personally aimed to play a role in exposing these illegal operations [...] to say that they don't characterize Kurdish people," says one reporter, a ex- asylum seeker himself. The reporter entered the United Kingdom illegally, having escaped from the Kurdish region - a territory that covers the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not globally acknowledged as a nation - because his well-being was at threat.

The reporters admit that conflicts over unauthorized immigration are elevated in the United Kingdom and state they have both been concerned that the probe could inflame tensions.

But the other reporter says that the illegal working "harms the whole Kurdish-origin population" and he considers compelled to "bring it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

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

He states this notably affected him when he noticed that far-right campaigner a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom rally was taking place in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating undercover. Placards and flags could be observed at the rally, displaying "we demand our nation back".

Saman and Ali have both been observing social media feedback to the inquiry from inside the Kurdish-origin community and explain it has caused significant frustration for certain individuals. One Facebook message they spotted said: "How can we find and track [the undercover reporters] to attack them like animals!"

One more demanded their families in Kurdistan to be slaughtered.

They have also encountered claims that they were spies for the British authorities, and traitors to fellow Kurds. "We are not spies, and we have no intention of damaging the Kurdish community," Saman states. "Our goal is to uncover those who have harmed its reputation. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish heritage and profoundly worried about the activities of such people."

The majority of those applying for asylum say they are escaping politically motivated persecution, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a charity that assists asylum seekers and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the situation for our undercover reporter Saman, who, when he initially arrived to the United Kingdom, faced difficulties for many years. He states he had to survive on less than £20 a per week while his refugee application was processed.

Refugee applicants now get about £49 a per week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in accommodation which offers meals, according to official guidance.

"Realistically speaking, this is not sufficient to maintain a respectable existence," says Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because asylum seekers are generally restricted from employment, he feels many are susceptible to being taken advantage of and are effectively "compelled to labor in the unofficial market for as little as three pounds per hourly rate".

A representative for the authorities stated: "The government make no apology for denying asylum seekers the permission to work - granting this would create an reason for individuals to come to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Asylum applications can require a long time to be decided with almost a one-third taking more than one year, according to government statistics from the end of March this year.

Saman states working illegally in a car wash, barbershop or mini-mart would have been extremely easy to accomplish, but he explained to us he would never have participated in that.

Nonetheless, he says that those he interviewed working in unauthorized convenience stores during his research seemed "lost", notably those whose asylum claim has been rejected and who were in the appeal stage.

"These individuals spent all their money to come to the UK, they had their asylum denied and now they've forfeited all they had."

Ali acknowledges that these people seemed hopeless.

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