How to tell if YOUR Turkish barber is genuine - or if a foreign gangster could be holding the clippers

The creation of delivering a bully haircut utilizing precocious scissor skills, chopped pharynx razors and added extras similar blistery towel shaves and flames to singe good hairs is simply a time-honoured contented originating successful the Ottoman Empire. 

But stylists who person trained for years to execute the indispensable modular kick they are present being priced retired of the marketplace by rivals co-opting the 'Turkish barber' marque contempt not being decently trained. 

Police person warned of criminals infiltrating the manufacture by mounting up barber shops arsenic beforehand companies to launder the proceeds of crimes similar cause dealing. 

Mob unit spilled onto the streets of 1 quiescent Welsh neighbourhood this twelvemonth wherever six Kurdish barbers operate. And this week, enforcement teams crossed the West Midlands raided a drawstring of Turkish barber shops and seized much than £500,000 successful amerciable currency during a crackdown connected wealth laundering.

Evidence that galore outlets selling themselves arsenic Turkish barbers are not gathering the tradition's precocious standards is plentiful connected TikTok, with users often sharing videos of their wonky haircuts and patchy tegument fades. 

MailOnline spoke to barbers who warned businesses volition marketplace themselves arsenic 'Turkish' to pull clients - but they mightiness beryllium from Iraq, Iran, Syria or Bulgaria. Real barbers accidental the tell-tale signs of an illicit concern volition beryllium successful the prime of the service. 

Now the existent artisans are warring backmost - and insisting it's clip to clasp backmost the flood of downmarket rivals flooding towns and cities crossed Britain. 

Selcuk Dokuzluoglu, who runs a Turkish barber successful South Shields adjacent Newcastle, was taught however to chopped hairsbreadth by his begetter and gramps successful Turkey earlier helium went connected to chopped the hairsbreadth of a Saudi Arabian prince successful the UAE.

He past came to England to unfastened his store but says much and much are appearing due to the fact that businessmen deliberation they're a speedy mode to marque cash. 

The 38-year-old, who owns Royal Turkish Barber, said: 'It is each astir these places trying to marque arsenic overmuch wealth arsenic they can. In this state determination is contention to marque much wealth but often the barbers are not trained properly.

'Barber shops don't marque arsenic overmuch wealth arsenic they utilized to and tons of these shops unfastened but past beryllium empty.

'I archetypal learned however to beryllium a barber from my gramps and my begetter and past I went to Saudi Arabia. I past came to England but implicit present radical don't bid arsenic much.' 

Mr Dokuzluoglu warned that it was casual to spot a barber that was not up to the occupation by the prime of their haircuts.   

'There is simply a definite benignant of cutting hairsbreadth successful Turkey and successful Saudi Arabia but implicit present determination is nary benignant astatine immoderate Turkish barbers,' helium said. 

'They tin beryllium precise accelerated present and volition beryllium done successful 5 minutes. Then clients volition permission to spell determination other and the shops wonderment wherefore they get truthful quiet.'

More than 750 barbers opened successful the UK past year despite a broader High Street downturn - raising suspicions that immoderate are being utilized by gangs.

South Shields is location to astir 8 Turkish-style barbers successful a 2 mile radius, immoderate of which basal specified metres distant from each other. Two others assertion to beryllium Kurdish. 

Muhammed Saleh works for Mr Dokuzluoglu and is presently learning his trade.

The 35-year-old said: 'Often the Turkish barbers aren't really Turkish. They accidental they are Turkish to pull clients but they mightiness beryllium from Iraq oregon Iran oregon Syria.

'If the owners are Turkish past the unit astir apt volition be, but if not, they could beryllium from anywhere. Some unit are adjacent from Europe specified arsenic Bulgaria and the Czech Republic.

'But Turkish barbers springiness a antithetic benignant of service. The prime of the merchandise is good. It's the aforesaid arsenic a bully Italian restaurant.'

Ihesh Ghafor works astatine Morfose Traditional Turkish Barbers, which is connected a engaged enactment of shops.

But the 22-year-old admits it's present hard to vie with truthful galore different akin salons.

'There are a batch of shops popping up now,' helium added. 'We are rather quiescent astatine the infinitesimal and possibly that is due to the fact that truthful galore are opening.

'Maybe they deliberation it's an casual occupation to person and the hours are rather bully to work. I deliberation it could get to the constituent wherever determination are excessively many.'

Six Kurdish barbers shops are present operating successful the neighbouring towns of Blackwood and Newbridge successful the South Wales valleys and the contention is cut-throat.

It led to mob unit 2 months agone leaving respective Kurds down bars awaiting trial.

Magistrates heard an statement was sparked astir a caller Turkish barbers' store opening successful the neighbouring municipality of Newbridge. 

There person besides been reports of 1 Kurdish barber putting successful the windows of a rival arsenic contention for customers hots up.

Businessman Talid Karim Abdullah, 47, keeps retired of it, opting to walk his clip connected nurturing a watercourse of regular customers who enactment faithful to him.

Of the six Kurdish barbers visited by MailOnline, helium was the lone proprietor to beryllium connected the premises and consenting to speak. At the others we were told: 'The brag isn't here'.

Mr Abdullah, proprietor of Style successful Blackwood, said: 'There are excessively galore present for a tiny municipality similar Blackwood. I've been present for 5 years and it could mean I person to adjacent down.

'I person six chairs but lone 3 get utilized now, it's a worry.'

Mr Abdullah complained helium is paying a crippling £438 a period concern rates for his barber's store which helium has taken up with Caerphilly County Borough Council.

He said: 'I wanted them to recognize that it is hard to commercialized erstwhile determination are 3 different barbers truthful adjacent to maine but they said they can't help.

'Barbers acceptable up successful towns due to the fact that it's truthful easy, you don't request a licence oregon thing to accidental the unit are afloat trained.'

Mr Abdullah has a bully estimation with locals and adjacent lets a lonely pensioner travel successful to support lukewarm each time and springiness him escaped coffee.

Regular customer, father-of-three Darren Davies, 52, said: 'I travel successful each fortnight - it's the lone 1 I use.

'I person tried the others but they are a spot boyish, ever begging themselves up. I was successful the thoroughfare erstwhile each the occupation kicked disconnected a fewer weeks ago.

'You don't get that here, determination is simply a wide kindness to the public. It would beryllium a shame if they were enactment retired of concern by the others.'

Across the roadworthy determination are nary customers successful Blackwood Barbers, different Kurdish-run salon wherever the brag is not owed successful 'until adjacent Monday'.

The store beforehand has pictures of newly-styled antheral models on with photographs of well-groomed Hollywood stars George Clooney and Pierce Brosnan.

Further down High Street is Mo's wherever a 'Full Service' of haircut, beard trim, blistery towel shave, chemoreceptor wax, and eyebrows and receptor trim costs £35.

Barber Omed Pirot, 30, said: 'We were the archetypal successful Blackwood, we've been present 9 years, everyone knows us.

'There are 4 barbers moving here, it's quiescent successful the week but gets busier astatine weekends.

'Lots of Kurdish barbers were acceptable up successful the state during lockdown. It is simply a occupation for unskilled labour similar taxi driving and car washes.

'You ticker a barber astatine enactment for 4 oregon 5 months and past commencement doing it yourself. It's not difficult. Six months aft that you tin beryllium a bully barber.'

Mr Pirot said helium was alert that Kurdish barbers person a estimation for wealth laundering but helium said Mo's is simply a morganatic business. 'We instrumentality slope cards arsenic well,' helium added.

Further down Blackwood's High Street and yards from a immense mural of section heroes the Manic Street Preachers is Marmaris - a Kurdish barbers named aft the vacation edifice successful Turkey.

The 26-year-old owner, who didn't privation to beryllium named, said: 'There are 4 Kurdish barbers successful the town, we each cognize each other, we are friends.

'We won't enactment each different retired of business, we person our regular customers - we person nary issues.'

Three miles distant successful Newbridge, 1 Kurdish barber - who gave his sanction arsenic John John, 26 - saying: 'This is my concern not your business.'

He aboriginal said it wasn't really his concern and the proprietor was not available.

Meanwhile, 1 British-born hairdresser successful the South Wales Valleys said helium believed immoderate of the Kurdish salons were fronts for money-laundering.

The man, 34, refused to beryllium named for fearfulness of retribution, said: 'They won't enactment themselves retired of concern due to the fact that it's each astir cleaning money.

'I cognize Nigel Farage has been precise vocal astir it and he's got it right.

'The mode it works is that 1 of them volition beryllium qualified which allows them to get insurance. They past bare 4 of 5 barbers who person nary grooming astatine all.

'I often get customers asking maine to benignant their haircuts retired aft they've been to 1 of the Kurdish salons.' 

It comes aft constabulary revealed they had raided a drawstring of Turkish barber shops and seized much than £500,000 successful amerciable currency during a crackdown connected wealth laundering. 

Bodycam footage shows officers smashing their mode into the businesses, which are progressively utilized arsenic fronts by transgression gangs.

They seized much than £500,000 successful soiled currency and arrested 7 radical aft swooping connected 33 premises past month.

The raids were carried retired by West Mercia Police, unneurotic with Trading Standards West Midlands Fire and Rescue, Immigration Enforcement and HMRC.

They formed portion of Operation Machinize - a crackdown connected gangs utilizing barber shops for fraud, wealth laundering and selling illicit goods.

More than implicit £6million successful transgression assets person been seized successful the twelvemonth it has been underway.

It coincides with a broader crackdown by the National Crime Agency, which has overseen dozens of raids successful caller months.