Why Our Team Chose to Go Undercover to Expose Criminal Activity in the Kurdish-origin Community

A pair of Kurdish men consented to operate secretly to uncover a network behind unlawful commercial establishments because the wrongdoers are causing harm the standing of Kurds in the United Kingdom, they explain.

The two, who we are calling Ali and Saman, are Kurdish-origin journalists who have both lived legally in the UK for years.

The team found that a Kurdish-linked criminal operation was managing small shops, hair salons and car washes throughout the UK, and aimed to find out more about how it operated and who was participating.

Equipped with secret cameras, Ali and Saman posed as Kurdish refugee applicants with no authorization to work, attempting to buy and run a small shop from which to distribute illegal cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were able to uncover how easy it is for an individual in these conditions to set up and run a commercial operation on the main street in full view. Those involved, we found, pay Kurds who have UK citizenship to legally establish the operations in their names, enabling to mislead the government agencies.

Saman and Ali also were able to covertly film one of those at the core of the network, who asserted that he could eliminate government penalties of up to £60k imposed on those using unauthorized workers.

"Personally wanted to contribute in revealing these illegal activities [...] to say that they do not represent our community," states one reporter, a ex- asylum seeker himself. The reporter came to the country illegally, having fled the Kurdish region - a region that spans the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not internationally recognised as a country - because his safety was at danger.

The investigators recognize that disagreements over illegal migration are significant in the United Kingdom and say they have both been anxious that the inquiry could worsen tensions.

But Ali explains that the unauthorized employment "harms the entire Kurdish-origin population" and he feels compelled to "expose it [the criminal network] out into the open".

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

He explains this especially struck him when he realized that extreme right activist a prominent activist's national unity march was occurring in London on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating covertly. Placards and banners could be spotted at the rally, reading "we demand our country returned".

The reporters have both been monitoring online reaction to the investigation from within the Kurdish community and report it has caused intense anger for some. One Facebook post they spotted read: "In what way can we identify and locate [the undercover reporters] to harm them like animals!"

Another called for their families in Kurdistan to be attacked.

They have also seen accusations that they were agents for the British authorities, and betrayers to other Kurdish people. "Both of us are not spies, and we have no aim of hurting the Kurdish population," Saman says. "Our aim is to expose those who have compromised its standing. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish-origin heritage and deeply troubled about the actions of such individuals."

The majority of those applying for refugee status state they are fleeing political persecution, according to an expert from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a charity that assists asylum seekers and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the scenario for our covert journalist Saman, who, when he initially came to the United Kingdom, struggled for many years. He explains he had to survive on less than twenty pounds a week while his asylum claim was reviewed.

Asylum seekers now get about forty-nine pounds a per week - or £9.95 if they are in accommodation which provides food, according to Home Office policies.

"Realistically stating, this isn't adequate to sustain a acceptable existence," states Mr Avicil from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are generally restricted from working, he feels a significant number are susceptible to being manipulated and are essentially "obligated to work in the black economy for as little as three pounds per hour".

A official for the authorities said: "We are unapologetic for not granting refugee applicants the authorization to work - doing so would generate an incentive for people to travel to the United Kingdom illegally."

Asylum cases can require multiple years to be processed with approximately a 33% taking more than one year, according to government data from the spring this year.

Saman says working without authorization in a car wash, barbershop or convenience store would have been quite simple to do, but he told the team he would not have participated in that.

However, he says that those he met working in unauthorized mini-marts during his research seemed "confused", especially those whose asylum claim has been denied and who were in the appeal stage.

"These individuals used all their funds to migrate to the UK, they had their asylum rejected and now they've lost everything."

Ali agrees that these people seemed in dire straits.

"If [they] declare you're not allowed to be employed - but additionally [you]