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

Two Kurdish-background individuals consented to go undercover to uncover a operation behind illegal main street establishments because the wrongdoers are negatively affecting the image of Kurdish people in the Britain, they say.

The pair, who we are calling Saman and Ali, are Kurdish investigators who have both lived legally in the United Kingdom for a long time.

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

Prepared with hidden recording devices, Ali and Saman posed as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no right to work, attempting to acquire and run a mini-mart from which to trade contraband tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were able to discover how straightforward it is for a person in these conditions to set up and manage a commercial operation on the High Street in plain sight. Those participating, we found, pay Kurds who have British citizenship to legally establish the enterprises in their names, helping to fool the government agencies.

Ali and Saman also managed to discreetly film one of those at the core of the network, who stated that he could remove government fines of up to sixty thousand pounds imposed on those employing unauthorized workers.

"Personally aimed to contribute in exposing these unlawful activities [...] to say that they do not speak for Kurdish people," states one reporter, a ex- refugee applicant himself. The reporter came to the country illegally, having escaped from the Kurdish region - a region that covers the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not officially recognized as a country - because his life was at danger.

The investigators recognize that conflicts over illegal immigration are elevated in the UK and explain they have both been anxious that the investigation could inflame tensions.

But the other reporter states that the illegal working "negatively affects the whole Kurdish population" and he believes obligated to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Furthermore, the journalist says he was worried the publication could be used by the far-right.

He states this notably affected him when he realized that extreme right campaigner a prominent activist's national unity rally was happening in London on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was working undercover. Placards and flags could be seen at the gathering, reading "we demand our country back".

Saman and Ali have both been observing social media feedback to the exposé from inside the Kurdish-origin community and say it has sparked significant outrage for certain individuals. One Facebook message they found stated: "How can we locate and locate [the undercover reporters] to attack them like dogs!"

One more urged their families in Kurdistan to be attacked.

They have also encountered accusations that they were informants for the UK authorities, and betrayers to other Kurds. "Both of us are not informants, and we have no desire of harming the Kurdish-origin population," one reporter states. "Our aim is to reveal those who have harmed its standing. We are proud of our Kurdish-origin heritage and profoundly concerned about the behavior of such individuals."

Most of those applying for refugee status state they are fleeing political oppression, according to an expert from the a refugee support organization, a non-profit that assists refugees and asylum seekers in the United Kingdom.

This was the situation for our undercover journalist Saman, who, when he initially came to the UK, faced difficulties for many years. He says he had to live on less than £20 a per week while his asylum claim was considered.

Asylum seekers now are provided approximately forty-nine pounds a per week - or £9.95 if they are in shelter which offers food, according to Home Office regulations.

"Practically saying, this isn't adequate to maintain a acceptable existence," states the expert from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are generally prohibited from employment, he believes many are open to being taken advantage of and are practically "forced to work in the unofficial economy for as little as three pounds per hour".

A representative for the government department said: "We make no apology for denying refugee applicants the authorization to work - doing so would establish an incentive for people to come to the United Kingdom illegally."

Asylum applications can take a long time to be decided with approximately a one-third taking over one year, according to government data from the spring this year.

Saman states being employed illegally in a car wash, hair salon or mini-mart would have been quite easy to achieve, but he told the team he would not have done that.

Nonetheless, he states that those he encountered working in unauthorized convenience stores during his investigation seemed "disoriented", particularly those whose asylum claim has been rejected and who were in the appeals process.

"They expended their entire funds to travel to the UK, they had their refugee application refused and now they've lost all they had."

The other reporter acknowledges that these people seemed desperate.

"When [they] say you're prohibited to be employed - but also [you]