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

Two Kurdish-background men agreed to go undercover to uncover a organization behind illegal main street enterprises because the lawbreakers are causing harm the reputation of Kurdish people in the UK, they explain.

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

Investigators discovered that a Kurdish crime network was running small shops, barbershops and vehicle cleaning services across the UK, and aimed to discover more about how it functioned and who was taking part.

Prepared with covert recording devices, Ali and Saman presented themselves as Kurdish asylum seekers with no permission to work, looking to buy and run a convenience store from which to sell illegal tobacco products and vapes.

The investigators were successful to uncover how simple it is for an individual in these circumstances to set up and manage a enterprise on the commercial area in full view. The individuals participating, we discovered, compensate Kurds who have UK residency to register the enterprises in their identities, enabling to deceive the authorities.

Saman and Ali also were able to covertly document one of those at the core of the organization, who claimed that he could eliminate government penalties of up to sixty thousand pounds faced those hiring illegal workers.

"Personally sought to contribute in exposing these illegal practices [...] to say that they don't speak for us," states Saman, a ex- refugee applicant himself. Saman came to the United Kingdom without authorization, having fled Kurdistan - a region that spans the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not internationally recognised as a state - because his safety was at danger.

The investigators recognize that conflicts over unauthorized migration are elevated in the UK and state they have both been worried that the inquiry could worsen tensions.

But the other reporter says that the unauthorized employment "negatively affects the entire Kurdish population" and he considers driven to "expose it [the criminal network] out into the open".

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

He says this notably affected him when he noticed that extreme right campaigner a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom protest was occurring in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was working covertly. Placards and flags could be seen at the gathering, showing "we demand our country returned".

Saman and Ali have both been observing online reaction to the investigation from inside the Kurdish-origin community and report it has generated significant frustration for certain individuals. One social media message they found read: "In what way can we find and find [the undercover reporters] to kill them like dogs!"

A different demanded their relatives in Kurdistan to be slaughtered.

They have also seen accusations that they were informants for the British government, and betrayers to fellow Kurdish people. "We are not spies, and we have no aim of harming the Kurdish population," one reporter says. "Our goal is to expose those who have harmed its standing. We are proud of our Kurdish-origin identity and deeply worried about the activities of such people."

The majority of those seeking refugee status state they are escaping political oppression, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a non-profit that assists asylum seekers and refugee applicants in the United Kingdom.

This was the case for our undercover reporter one investigator, who, when he initially came to the UK, struggled for years. He explains he had to survive on less than twenty pounds a per week while his refugee application was considered.

Asylum seekers now get approximately forty-nine pounds a week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in shelter which includes meals, according to Home Office guidance.

"Honestly stating, this is not adequate to maintain a acceptable life," explains the expert from the RWCA.

Because asylum seekers are mostly prohibited from employment, he believes a significant number are susceptible to being exploited and are effectively "obligated to work in the black market for as low as three pounds per hourly rate".

A spokesperson for the authorities commented: "We are unapologetic for denying asylum seekers the permission to work - doing so would generate an incentive for people to travel to the United Kingdom illegally."

Refugee applications can take multiple years to be processed with nearly a one-third taking over one year, according to official data from the spring this year.

The reporter explains working illegally in a car wash, barbershop or convenience store would have been very straightforward to do, but he told the team he would never have participated in that.

However, he says that those he met laboring in illegal mini-marts during his research seemed "disoriented", especially those whose asylum claim has been denied and who were in the appeals process.

"They used all their money to travel to the UK, they had their asylum refused and now they've lost everything."

The other reporter acknowledges that these people seemed hopeless.

"When [they] say you're not allowed to work - but additionally [you]