The Reasons We Chose to Go Covert to Uncover Criminal Activity in the Kurdish Population

A pair of Kurdish individuals agreed to go undercover to uncover a operation behind unlawful main street businesses because the lawbreakers are negatively affecting the standing of Kurds in the UK, they say.

The pair, who we are calling Ali and Saman, are Kurdish-origin journalists who have both resided legally in the United Kingdom for a long time.

Investigators discovered that a Kurdish-linked criminal operation was running convenience stores, hair salons and vehicle cleaning services across the United Kingdom, and sought to discover more about how it functioned and who was participating.

Prepared with secret cameras, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish asylum seekers with no permission to be employed, looking to buy and operate a convenience store from which to trade illegal cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

They were able to uncover how straightforward it is for an individual in these circumstances to start and manage a business on the High Street in full view. Those participating, we discovered, pay Kurds who have UK citizenship to register the operations in their names, enabling to deceive the officials.

Ali and Saman also managed to secretly document one of those at the centre of the network, who asserted that he could erase official penalties of up to £60,000 faced those hiring illegal workers.

"I wanted to play a role in uncovering these illegal operations [...] to loudly proclaim that they don't represent Kurdish people," states one reporter, a ex- refugee applicant personally. The reporter came to the United Kingdom without authorization, having fled Kurdistan - 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 threat.

The reporters recognize that tensions over illegal immigration are high in the UK and explain they have both been anxious that the inquiry could inflame hostilities.

But Ali explains that the illegal working "damages the whole Kurdish-origin population" and he believes driven to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Separately, Ali says he was anxious the publication could be seized upon by the extreme right.

He explains this especially struck him when he noticed that far-right campaigner Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom rally was taking place in the capital on one of the weekends he was working secretly. Placards and flags could be seen at the rally, showing "we want our nation back".

Both journalists have both been observing social media response to the investigation from within the Kurdish-origin community and report it has generated significant anger for some. One social media message they found said: "How can we locate and track [the undercover reporters] to kill them like animals!"

Another urged their relatives in the Kurdish region to be attacked.

They have also seen accusations that they were spies for the UK government, and betrayers to fellow Kurdish people. "Both of us are not spies, and we have no desire of hurting the Kurdish-origin population," one reporter says. "Our goal is to uncover those who have harmed its standing. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish-origin heritage and extremely troubled about the behavior of such persons."

The majority of those applying for refugee status say they are fleeing politically motivated oppression, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a charity that helps refugees and refugee applicants in the United Kingdom.

This was the case for our covert journalist Saman, who, when he initially came to the UK, faced difficulties for many years. He states he had to live on under twenty pounds a week while his asylum claim was considered.

Asylum seekers now receive approximately forty-nine pounds a week - or £9.95 if they are in accommodation which provides food, according to official policies.

"Practically stating, this is not enough to maintain a acceptable life," states Mr Avicil from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are largely prohibited from working, he believes many are open to being manipulated and are effectively "compelled to labor in the black market for as low as £3 per hour".

A representative for the authorities commented: "The government do not apologize for denying asylum seekers the right to be employed - doing so would create an reason for individuals to migrate to the United Kingdom illegally."

Asylum cases can take a long time to be resolved with approximately a 33% taking over one year, according to official statistics from the end of March this current year.

The reporter states working without authorization in a car wash, barbershop or convenience store would have been very straightforward to accomplish, but he informed us he would not have participated in that.

Nonetheless, he says that those he interviewed working in unauthorized mini-marts during his research seemed "lost", particularly those whose refugee application has been refused and who were in the appeals process.

"These individuals spent all their savings to travel to the UK, they had their asylum rejected and now they've forfeited all they had."

The other reporter concurs that these people seemed desperate.

"When [they] say you're forbidden to be employed - but simultaneously [you]