The Reasons We Chose to Go Covert to Uncover Criminal Activity in the Kurdish-origin Community

A pair of Kurdish men consented to go undercover to uncover a organization behind illegal High Street establishments because the lawbreakers are damaging the image of Kurdish people in the UK, they state.

The two, who we are calling Saman and Ali, are Kurdish-origin reporters who have both resided lawfully in the United Kingdom for years.

The team uncovered that a Kurdish-linked crime network was running small shops, barbershops and vehicle cleaning services the length of the United Kingdom, and wanted to learn more about how it operated and who was participating.

Prepared with secret recording devices, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no authorization to be employed, attempting to buy and operate a mini-mart from which to sell illegal cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were able to uncover how easy it is for a person in these conditions to set up and manage a business on the High Street in full view. Those participating, we found, compensate Kurds who have British citizenship to legally establish the enterprises in their names, assisting to fool the authorities.

Saman and Ali also managed to discreetly document one of those at the core of the network, who stated that he could eliminate government penalties of up to £60k faced those employing illegal employees.

"Personally sought to contribute in exposing these illegal activities [...] to say that they do not speak for us," explains Saman, a former refugee applicant himself. The reporter entered the country without authorization, having fled Kurdistan - a region that covers the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not internationally recognised as a state - because his well-being was at danger.

The journalists acknowledge that disagreements over illegal migration are high in the United Kingdom and state they have both been worried that the inquiry could inflame hostilities.

But the other reporter explains that the unauthorized employment "damages the whole Kurdish-origin community" and he believes driven to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Separately, Ali says he was anxious the reporting could be seized upon by the far-right.

He explains this notably struck him when he discovered that radical right campaigner Tommy Robinson's national unity protest was taking place in London on one of the weekends he was operating covertly. Signs and banners could be spotted at the protest, showing "we want our nation returned".

Both journalists have both been observing social media response to the investigation from inside the Kurdish population and explain it has sparked strong frustration for certain individuals. One Facebook comment they found said: "In what way can we locate and track [the undercover reporters] to attack them like dogs!"

One more demanded their relatives in Kurdistan to be slaughtered.

They have also read allegations that they were informants for the UK government, and traitors to other Kurdish people. "We are not spies, and we have no aim of damaging the Kurdish-origin community," Saman explains. "Our goal is to expose those who have harmed its image. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish-origin heritage and extremely concerned about the actions of such persons."

Most of those seeking refugee status claim they are escaping political discrimination, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a refugee support organization, a charity that assists refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the scenario for our undercover journalist one investigator, who, when he initially arrived to the UK, struggled for years. He explains he had to survive on under twenty pounds a week while his asylum claim was processed.

Refugee applicants now are provided about forty-nine pounds a week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in housing which provides food, according to official regulations.

"Honestly speaking, this is not enough to support a dignified life," states Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because refugee applicants are largely restricted from working, he thinks numerous are vulnerable to being taken advantage of and are effectively "obligated to work in the unofficial economy for as low as three pounds per hour".

A representative for the government department stated: "We do not apologize for not granting asylum seekers the permission to be employed - doing so would generate an incentive for people to come to the UK illegally."

Refugee cases can require years to be processed with nearly a 33% taking over a year, according to official figures from the late March this year.

Saman explains being employed without authorization in a vehicle cleaning service, hair salon or mini-mart would have been very straightforward to achieve, but he explained to the team he would never have done that.

Nevertheless, he explains that those he encountered employed in unauthorized mini-marts during his research seemed "confused", notably those whose refugee application has been rejected and who were in the appeals process.

"These individuals used their entire money to migrate to the UK, they had their asylum refused and now they've sacrificed everything."

The other reporter agrees that these people seemed desperate.

"If [they] state you're forbidden to work - but also [you]