The Reasons We Chose to Go Covert to Reveal Criminal Activity in the Kurdish-origin Population

Two Kurdish men agreed to go undercover to uncover a organization behind unlawful commercial establishments because the wrongdoers are damaging the reputation of Kurdish people in the Britain, they explain.

The two, who we are referring to as Saman and Ali, are Kurdish-origin investigators who have both lived lawfully in the UK for years.

The team uncovered that a Kurdish criminal operation was operating mini-marts, hair salons and car washes the length of Britain, and wanted to discover more about how it worked and who was taking part.

Prepared with hidden cameras, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no right to work, looking to acquire and manage a mini-mart from which to distribute unlawful cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

They were able to discover how easy it is for an individual in these situations to establish and run a commercial operation on the commercial area in full view. The individuals participating, we found, pay Kurds who have UK citizenship to legally establish the enterprises in their identities, assisting to mislead the authorities.

Saman and Ali also managed to covertly film one of those at the centre of the organization, who claimed that he could remove government sanctions of up to £60k faced those employing unauthorized laborers.

"I sought to play a role in exposing these unlawful operations [...] to declare that they don't represent our community," explains one reporter, a former refugee applicant himself. Saman came to the country without authorization, having fled Kurdistan - a area that straddles the borders of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not internationally recognised as a state - because his safety was at risk.

The reporters acknowledge that tensions over unauthorized migration are elevated in the UK and say they have both been concerned that the investigation could inflame hostilities.

But the other reporter states that the unauthorized labor "damages the whole Kurdish-origin community" and he feels compelled to "bring it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Separately, Ali explains he was worried the publication could be exploited by the far-right.

He states this especially impressed him when he realized that extreme right campaigner a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom protest was happening in the capital on one of the weekends he was working secretly. Placards and banners could be observed at the gathering, reading "we demand our nation returned".

Both journalists have both been tracking online reaction to the investigation from inside the Kurdish-origin population and say it has caused strong outrage for some. One Facebook post they observed stated: "In what way can we locate and track [the undercover reporters] to harm them like animals!"

A different urged their relatives in the Kurdish region to be harmed.

They have also encountered allegations that they were agents for the British government, and betrayers to other Kurdish people. "Both of us are not informants, and we have no desire of damaging the Kurdish community," one reporter states. "Our aim is to expose those who have damaged its standing. We are proud of our Kurdish-origin identity and extremely troubled about the actions of such people."

Most of those seeking refugee status claim they are escaping politically motivated discrimination, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a non-profit that supports asylum seekers and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the case for our undercover reporter one investigator, who, when he initially arrived to the United Kingdom, struggled for many years. He says he had to live on under twenty pounds a per week while his refugee application was considered.

Refugee applicants now get about £49 a week - or £9.95 if they are in shelter which includes meals, according to Home Office policies.

"Practically saying, this isn't sufficient to maintain a acceptable existence," explains Mr Avicil from the RWCA.

Because asylum seekers are generally prevented from working, he feels numerous are susceptible to being manipulated and are essentially "compelled to work in the unofficial market for as low as three pounds per hour".

A spokesperson for the government department stated: "The government do not apologize for not granting refugee applicants the right to work - granting this would establish an motivation for individuals to travel to the United Kingdom illegally."

Asylum cases can take multiple years to be decided with almost a one-third taking over one year, according to government data from the spring this year.

Saman says being employed without authorization in a car wash, barbershop or mini-mart would have been extremely simple to accomplish, but he informed us he would not have done that.

However, he explains that those he interviewed working in illegal convenience stores during his research seemed "lost", notably those whose asylum claim has been rejected and who were in the appeals process.

"These individuals spent all their funds to travel to the United Kingdom, they had their refugee application denied and now they've lost their entire investment."

Ali agrees that these people seemed in dire straits.

"If [they] say you're not allowed to be employed - but simultaneously [you]