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

Two Kurdish-background men agreed to operate secretly to reveal a operation behind illegal main street establishments because the lawbreakers are negatively affecting the image of Kurdish people in the United Kingdom, they state.

The two, who we are calling Ali and Saman, are Kurdish reporters who have both lived legally in the UK for years.

The team uncovered that a Kurdish-linked crime network was operating mini-marts, barbershops and car washes the length of Britain, and wanted to discover more about how it worked and who was taking part.

Prepared with secret recording devices, Ali and Saman presented themselves as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no permission to work, seeking to purchase and manage a mini-mart from which to sell contraband tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were successful to discover how easy it is for someone in these situations to set up and operate a commercial operation on the commercial area in plain sight. The individuals involved, we discovered, pay Kurds who have UK citizenship to legally establish the businesses in their identities, assisting to mislead the authorities.

Ali and Saman also were able to discreetly document one of those at the core of the organization, who stated that he could remove government penalties of up to £60k faced those using illegal employees.

"Personally aimed to contribute in exposing these unlawful operations [...] to declare that they don't characterize our community," states one reporter, a former refugee applicant himself. The reporter entered the United Kingdom without authorization, having escaped from the Kurdish region - a region that straddles the boundaries of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not globally acknowledged as a country - because his life was at risk.

The reporters admit that disagreements over unauthorized migration are high in the UK and say they have both been concerned that the inquiry could inflame conflicts.

But the other reporter states that the unauthorized employment "negatively affects the whole Kurdish population" and he feels obligated to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Additionally, the journalist says he was worried the publication could be used by the radical right.

He explains this particularly struck him when he noticed that far-right activist a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom protest was taking place in London on one of the weekends he was working undercover. Signs and banners could be observed at the protest, showing "we want our country back".

Saman and Ali have both been monitoring online reaction to the inquiry from within the Kurdish population and report it has caused strong frustration for some. One Facebook comment they found read: "In what way can we locate and track [the undercover reporters] to attack them like animals!"

Another urged their families in Kurdistan to be slaughtered.

They have also encountered claims that they were agents for the British government, and traitors to fellow Kurds. "We are not spies, and we have no intention of damaging the Kurdish population," Saman says. "Our goal is to reveal those who have damaged its image. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish heritage and deeply worried about the activities of such people."

The majority of those applying for refugee status say they are escaping politically motivated oppression, according to an expert from the a charitable organization, a charity that helps asylum seekers and refugee applicants in the United Kingdom.

This was the scenario for our covert journalist Saman, who, when he initially arrived to the UK, struggled for years. He says he had to live on less than £20 a week while his refugee application was processed.

Refugee applicants now receive about £49 a per week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in accommodation which provides meals, according to Home Office regulations.

"Realistically speaking, this isn't enough to support a dignified existence," says the expert from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are generally prevented from working, he thinks many are vulnerable to being exploited and are practically "forced to labor in the unofficial market for as low as £3 per hour".

A representative for the authorities commented: "The government are unapologetic for not granting refugee applicants the permission to work - doing so would generate an reason for people to migrate to the UK without authorization."

Asylum applications can take a long time to be decided with almost a one-third taking more than 12 months, according to official statistics from the late March this year.

The reporter explains working illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, hair salon or convenience store would have been quite simple to accomplish, but he explained to the team he would never have participated in that.

However, he states that those he met working in unauthorized mini-marts during his investigation seemed "confused", notably those whose asylum claim has been denied and who were in the appeal stage.

"They spent their entire savings to migrate to the United Kingdom, they had their refugee application denied and now they've sacrificed their entire investment."

Ali agrees that these individuals seemed in dire straits.

"When [they] say you're prohibited to work - but additionally [you]