Why We Chose to Go Covert to Uncover Criminal Activity in the Kurdish-origin Population

A pair of Kurdish-background individuals agreed to operate secretly to uncover a operation behind unlawful main street businesses because the wrongdoers are negatively affecting the reputation of Kurdish people in the Britain, they say.

The pair, who we are calling Saman and Ali, are Kurdish reporters who have both lived lawfully in the United Kingdom for many years.

Investigators uncovered that a Kurdish-linked crime network was operating small shops, hair salons and vehicle cleaning services the length of the UK, and aimed to discover more about how it operated and who was involved.

Equipped with secret cameras, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish asylum seekers with no authorization to work, attempting to acquire and run a mini-mart from which to sell unlawful tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were successful to reveal how straightforward it is for someone in these conditions to establish and operate a business on the High Street in plain sight. The individuals participating, we found, compensate Kurds who have British citizenship to register the operations in their names, enabling to deceive the government agencies.

Ali and Saman also were able to discreetly document one of those at the centre of the network, who stated that he could eliminate government penalties of up to sixty thousand pounds faced those using unauthorized workers.

"Personally sought to contribute in revealing these unlawful operations [...] to declare that they don't speak for our community," states Saman, a former asylum seeker personally. The reporter came to the United Kingdom without authorization, having escaped from the Kurdish region - a territory that straddles the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not officially recognized as a state - because his life was at risk.

The journalists recognize that disagreements over illegal immigration are elevated in the UK and explain they have both been anxious that the probe could worsen tensions.

But Ali states that the unauthorized working "harms the entire Kurdish population" and he considers obligated to "bring it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Furthermore, Ali says he was anxious the publication could be seized upon by the radical right.

He states this especially struck him when he noticed that far-right campaigner a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom protest was occurring in London on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was working secretly. Signs and banners could be spotted at the protest, showing "we want our nation back".

The reporters have both been observing social media response to the inquiry from within the Kurdish population and explain it has generated strong anger for some. One Facebook post they found said: "In what way can we find and track [the undercover reporters] to harm them like animals!"

A different demanded their families in Kurdistan to be slaughtered.

They have also read accusations that they were informants for the UK authorities, and traitors to fellow Kurdish people. "Both of us are not spies, and we have no aim of hurting the Kurdish-origin community," one reporter says. "Our objective is to expose those who have compromised its standing. We are proud of our Kurdish identity and deeply worried about the actions of such people."

Most of those seeking asylum say they are fleeing political oppression, according to an expert from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a non-profit that assists refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the scenario for our covert reporter one investigator, who, when he initially arrived to the United Kingdom, struggled for many years. He explains he had to live on less than £20 a week while his asylum claim was considered.

Refugee applicants now are provided about £49 a per week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in housing which provides meals, according to official regulations.

"Practically speaking, this is not enough to support a acceptable lifestyle," explains the expert from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are generally prohibited from working, he believes a significant number are vulnerable to being taken advantage of and are essentially "forced to labor in the illegal market for as low as £3 per hourly rate".

A representative for the authorities commented: "We do not apologize for denying refugee applicants the authorization to work - granting this would generate an reason for individuals to migrate to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Asylum cases can take years to be processed with almost a third taking over 12 months, according to government statistics from the end of March this year.

The reporter states working without authorization in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or convenience store would have been extremely straightforward to achieve, but he told the team he would never have done that.

Nevertheless, he explains that those he interviewed working in unauthorized convenience stores during his research seemed "confused", especially those whose refugee application has been denied and who were in the appeals process.

"These individuals spent all of their money to migrate to the UK, they had their asylum rejected and now they've sacrificed everything."

The other reporter agrees that these people seemed hopeless.

"When [they] state you're not allowed to be employed - but also [you]