The Reasons We Went Covert to Uncover Crime in the Kurdish-origin Community

Two Kurdish men decided to go undercover to expose a organization behind unlawful High Street businesses because the wrongdoers are damaging the image of Kurds in the Britain, they say.

The pair, who we are referring to as Saman and Ali, are Kurdish-origin journalists who have both lived legally in the United Kingdom for a long time.

Investigators found that a Kurdish illegal enterprise was operating mini-marts, barbershops and vehicle cleaning services the length of the UK, and sought to find out more about how it worked and who was participating.

Equipped with secret recording devices, Ali and Saman presented themselves as Kurdish asylum seekers with no authorization to be employed, looking to buy and run a small shop from which to sell contraband tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

They were successful to reveal how easy it is for someone in these circumstances to establish and operate a commercial operation on the main street in plain sight. The individuals participating, we learned, compensate Kurdish individuals who have UK citizenship to register the businesses in their identities, enabling to mislead the officials.

Ali and Saman also were able to covertly record one of those at the centre of the organization, who claimed that he could erase government fines of up to £60k imposed on those using unauthorized laborers.

"Personally sought to participate in revealing these illegal operations [...] to declare that they do not represent Kurdish people," explains one reporter, a ex- refugee applicant himself. The reporter came to the United Kingdom illegally, having fled the Kurdish region - a region that covers the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not officially recognized as a country - because his well-being was at danger.

The investigators acknowledge that disagreements over unauthorized migration are significant in the United Kingdom and state they have both been concerned that the inquiry could intensify conflicts.

But the other reporter explains that the unauthorized employment "damages the entire Kurdish population" and he considers driven to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Furthermore, the journalist says he was worried the coverage could be exploited by the far-right.

He says this notably affected him when he noticed that extreme right campaigner a prominent activist's national unity march was happening in London on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was working secretly. Banners and flags could be observed at the protest, reading "we want our country returned".

Saman and Ali have both been observing social media reaction to the exposé from within the Kurdish-origin community and report it has caused intense anger for certain individuals. One social media post they found said: "In what way can we identify and track [the undercover reporters] to attack them like dogs!"

One more urged their relatives in Kurdistan to be attacked.

They have also encountered allegations that they were informants for the British government, and betrayers to other Kurds. "We are not informants, and we have no intention of hurting the Kurdish-origin community," Saman states. "Our goal is to reveal those who have harmed its reputation. We are honored of our Kurdish-origin heritage and deeply troubled about the behavior of such people."

Most of those seeking asylum say they are escaping politically motivated oppression, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a charitable organization, a organization that helps refugees and refugee applicants in the United Kingdom.

This was the case for our covert journalist Saman, who, when he initially arrived to the United Kingdom, struggled for years. He explains he had to survive on less than £20 a per week while his asylum claim was reviewed.

Asylum seekers now receive about forty-nine pounds a week - or £9.95 if they are in shelter which includes meals, according to official regulations.

"Honestly stating, this is not sufficient to support a acceptable life," states the expert from the the organization.

Because refugee applicants are largely prohibited from working, he thinks many are susceptible to being manipulated and are effectively "compelled to labor in the black economy for as little as £3 per hourly rate".

A spokesperson for the Home Office commented: "We make no apology for denying refugee applicants the permission to be employed - doing so would create an reason for people to come to the United Kingdom illegally."

Refugee applications can require a long time to be decided with nearly a 33% requiring more than 12 months, according to official figures from the late March this year.

The reporter says working without authorization in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or convenience store would have been very simple to achieve, but he explained to the team he would not have participated in that.

Nonetheless, he says that those he met working in illegal mini-marts during his research seemed "disoriented", especially those whose asylum claim has been denied and who were in the appeals process.

"They used all of their savings to come to the United Kingdom, they had their asylum refused and now they've forfeited all they had."

The other reporter acknowledges that these individuals seemed desperate.

"When [they] state you're prohibited to be employed - but additionally [you]