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

A pair of Kurdish-background individuals decided to go undercover to uncover a operation behind illegal commercial businesses because the lawbreakers are causing harm the image of Kurdish people in the United Kingdom, they explain.

The two, who we are calling Ali and Saman, are Kurdish reporters who have both resided legally in the UK for years.

Investigators discovered that a Kurdish-linked crime network was operating convenience stores, barbershops and vehicle cleaning services throughout the United Kingdom, and wanted to find out more about how it operated and who was involved.

Armed with covert cameras, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish asylum seekers with no permission to work, attempting to acquire and manage a small shop from which to distribute illegal tobacco products and vapes.

They were successful to uncover how simple it is for a person in these situations to start and operate a commercial operation on the main street in public view. Those involved, we found, compensate Kurds who have UK citizenship to legally establish the operations in their names, helping to fool the officials.

Saman and Ali also succeeded to covertly film one of those at the heart of the organization, who claimed that he could remove government fines of up to sixty thousand pounds faced those employing illegal workers.

"Personally wanted to play a role in exposing these illegal practices [...] to say that they do not represent Kurdish people," explains one reporter, a former asylum seeker himself. The reporter entered the United Kingdom illegally, having fled the Kurdish region - a territory that straddles the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not internationally recognised as a state - because his life was at risk.

The journalists acknowledge that disagreements over unauthorized migration are elevated in the United Kingdom and say they have both been anxious that the investigation could worsen conflicts.

But Ali explains that the illegal working "negatively affects the entire Kurdish-origin population" and he believes driven to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

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

He says this notably affected him when he discovered that extreme right campaigner a prominent activist's national unity protest was happening in London on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating undercover. Signs and flags could be spotted at the rally, showing "we want our country returned".

Both journalists have both been tracking online feedback to the investigation from inside the Kurdish-origin population and report it has generated significant anger for certain individuals. One Facebook comment they found said: "In what way can we find and track [the undercover reporters] to harm them like dogs!"

A different demanded their relatives in the Kurdish region to be slaughtered.

They have also encountered accusations that they were informants for the British authorities, and betrayers to fellow Kurds. "We are not informants, and we have no desire of harming the Kurdish population," one reporter explains. "Our aim is to uncover those who have harmed its standing. We are proud of our Kurdish identity and deeply worried about the activities of such people."

The majority of those applying for refugee status say they are fleeing politically motivated oppression, according to an expert from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a charity that helps asylum seekers and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the situation for our covert journalist Saman, who, when he first arrived to the UK, experienced challenges for many years. He explains he had to live on under £20 a per week while his asylum claim was reviewed.

Refugee applicants now get approximately £49 a week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in housing which includes food, according to government regulations.

"Practically speaking, this is not sufficient to support a acceptable life," explains Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because asylum seekers are generally prevented from employment, he feels many are open to being exploited and are effectively "forced to work in the illegal market for as little as three pounds per hourly rate".

A representative for the authorities stated: "The government are unapologetic for refusing to grant asylum seekers the permission to be employed - doing so would create an incentive for individuals to migrate to the UK without authorization."

Asylum cases can require years to be resolved with almost a one-third taking over a year, according to government figures from the end of March this current year.

The reporter states working illegally in a car wash, barbershop or convenience store would have been quite simple to do, but he informed the team he would not have participated in that.

However, he says that those he met employed in unauthorized convenience stores during his work seemed "confused", particularly those whose asylum claim has been denied and who were in the appeals process.

"They used all their savings to migrate to the United Kingdom, they had their asylum denied and now they've sacrificed their entire investment."

Ali acknowledges that these individuals seemed hopeless.

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