The Reasons Our Team Chose to Go Undercover to Expose Crime in the Kurdish Population

A pair of Kurdish individuals agreed to operate secretly to uncover a network behind illegal High Street establishments because the lawbreakers are damaging the reputation of Kurds in the UK, they state.

The two, who we are calling Ali and Saman, are Kurdish-origin reporters who have both lived lawfully in the UK for a long time.

The team uncovered that a Kurdish-linked crime network was managing mini-marts, hair salons and car washes throughout Britain, and wanted to discover more about how it functioned and who was involved.

Armed with covert cameras, Ali and Saman posed as Kurdish refugee applicants with no authorization to work, attempting to acquire and operate a convenience store from which to distribute unlawful cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

They were successful to uncover how straightforward it is for an individual in these situations to set up and run a enterprise on the commercial area in full view. Those participating, we learned, pay Kurds who have British citizenship to register the enterprises in their identities, helping to mislead the government agencies.

Saman and Ali also managed to covertly document one of those at the heart of the network, who claimed that he could erase official penalties of up to £60k encountered those using illegal employees.

"I sought to participate in exposing these unlawful activities [...] to loudly proclaim that they do not represent our community," states Saman, a former refugee applicant himself. Saman came to the UK without authorization, having escaped from Kurdistan - a territory that straddles the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not officially recognized as a nation - because his safety was at threat.

The journalists acknowledge that tensions over illegal migration are elevated in the UK and state they have both been concerned that the inquiry could worsen conflicts.

But the other reporter states that the unauthorized working "harms the whole Kurdish population" and he considers compelled to "expose it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Additionally, Ali says he was concerned the coverage could be seized upon by the far-right.

He says this especially affected him when he realized that far-right campaigner Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom march was happening in the capital on one of the weekends he was working covertly. Banners and flags could be seen at the gathering, reading "we want our nation back".

Saman and Ali have both been observing social media reaction to the investigation from within the Kurdish community and explain it has caused strong outrage for some. One Facebook comment they observed said: "In what way can we find and find [the undercover reporters] to harm them like dogs!"

Another called for their relatives in the Kurdish region to be slaughtered.

They have also seen allegations that they were spies for the UK government, and betrayers to other Kurdish people. "Both of us are not informants, and we have no desire of harming the Kurdish-origin community," Saman states. "Our aim is to reveal those who have compromised its standing. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish heritage and deeply troubled about the actions of such individuals."

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

This was the situation for our covert journalist Saman, who, when he first arrived to the UK, struggled for many years. He explains he had to survive on under £20 a week while his refugee application was processed.

Asylum seekers now get about £49 a week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in shelter which includes food, according to official regulations.

"Practically speaking, this is not sufficient to sustain a acceptable life," states the expert from the the organization.

Because refugee applicants are largely prohibited from working, he feels many are susceptible to being taken advantage of and are practically "forced to work in the illegal sector for as low as £3 per hourly rate".

A representative for the government department commented: "We are unapologetic for denying refugee applicants the permission to work - granting this would create an incentive for people to migrate to the UK illegally."

Refugee cases can require multiple years to be processed with nearly a 33% taking more than 12 months, according to government statistics from the spring this year.

The reporter says being employed illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, hair salon or convenience store would have been very straightforward to do, but he explained to us he would never have done that.

Nevertheless, he says that those he met working in illegal mini-marts during his investigation seemed "confused", especially those whose refugee application has been denied and who were in the appeal stage.

"They used their entire money to migrate to the United Kingdom, they had their refugee application rejected and now they've forfeited all they had."

Ali agrees that these people seemed in dire straits.

"When [they] declare you're prohibited to be employed - but simultaneously [you]