Why We Chose to Go Undercover to Reveal Crime in the Kurdish Community

Two Kurdish individuals agreed to go undercover to reveal a network behind illegal High Street enterprises because the criminals are causing harm the image of Kurdish people in the United Kingdom, they say.

The two, who we are referring to as Ali and Saman, are Kurdish-origin reporters who have both resided lawfully in the United Kingdom for a long time.

The team found that a Kurdish-linked illegal enterprise was running mini-marts, hair salons and car washes throughout the United Kingdom, and wanted to learn more about how it worked and who was involved.

Equipped with secret cameras, Ali and Saman presented themselves as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no authorization to work, looking to purchase and operate a small shop from which to trade contraband cigarettes and vapes.

The investigators were able to reveal how easy it is for an individual in these conditions to set up and manage a enterprise on the commercial area in public view. The individuals participating, we found, pay Kurdish individuals who have British citizenship to register the enterprises in their names, helping to mislead the authorities.

Ali and Saman also succeeded to secretly record one of those at the heart of the organization, who stated that he could erase official fines of up to sixty thousand pounds faced those hiring unauthorized laborers.

"I aimed to contribute in exposing these illegal activities [...] to say that they do not represent Kurdish people," states one reporter, a ex- asylum seeker himself. The reporter entered the UK illegally, having escaped from the Kurdish region - a territory that spans the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not officially recognized as a country - because his well-being was at risk.

The journalists acknowledge that conflicts over unauthorized migration are high in the United Kingdom and say they have both been anxious that the inquiry could inflame tensions.

But Ali explains that the illegal employment "negatively affects the whole Kurdish-origin community" and he believes compelled to "expose it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Additionally, the journalist mentions he was anxious the publication could be used by the far-right.

He says this notably struck him when he discovered that extreme right campaigner a prominent activist's national unity rally was taking place in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was working undercover. Banners and flags could be observed at the rally, showing "we want our country back".

Both journalists have both been tracking online response to the inquiry from inside the Kurdish community and explain it has caused strong anger for some. One social media comment they spotted stated: "In what way can we locate and locate [the undercover reporters] to kill them like dogs!"

Another urged their relatives in Kurdistan to be attacked.

They have also encountered claims that they were informants for the British authorities, and traitors to other Kurdish people. "Both of us are not informants, and we have no aim of damaging the Kurdish-origin population," Saman states. "Our objective is to expose those who have harmed its standing. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish-origin identity and extremely concerned about the actions of such persons."

Most of those applying for asylum state they are escaping political discrimination, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a charitable organization, a charity that assists asylum seekers and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the situation for our undercover journalist one investigator, who, when he initially came to the UK, struggled for years. He says he had to survive on less than £20 a per week while his refugee application was considered.

Asylum seekers now receive approximately £49 a per week - or £9.95 if they are in shelter which offers food, according to Home Office guidance.

"Practically speaking, this is not sufficient to sustain a dignified lifestyle," explains Mr Avicil from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are largely prohibited from working, he thinks many are open to being exploited and are effectively "compelled to work in the black economy for as little as three pounds per hour".

A spokesperson for the Home Office commented: "We make no apology for not granting refugee applicants the right to be employed - doing so would create an motivation for individuals to come to the UK illegally."

Refugee applications can take a long time to be resolved with approximately a one-third requiring more than 12 months, according to official data from the late March this current year.

The reporter states working illegally in a car wash, hair salon or mini-mart would have been very straightforward to accomplish, but he told the team he would not have engaged in that.

Nevertheless, he explains that those he met working in unauthorized convenience stores during his investigation seemed "confused", particularly those whose asylum claim has been refused and who were in the legal challenge.

"They expended all of their savings to migrate to the United Kingdom, they had their asylum denied and now they've forfeited everything."

Ali concurs that these individuals seemed hopeless.

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