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

Two Kurdish-background men consented to go undercover to expose a network behind illegal commercial businesses because the lawbreakers are causing harm the reputation of Kurds in the United Kingdom, they state.

The pair, who we are referring to as Ali and Saman, are Kurdish-origin investigators who have both resided lawfully in the UK for years.

Investigators discovered that a Kurdish criminal operation was managing mini-marts, barbershops and vehicle cleaning services throughout the United Kingdom, and sought to learn more about how it functioned and who was involved.

Prepared with secret cameras, Ali and Saman presented themselves as Kurdish asylum seekers with no right to work, looking to acquire and run a convenience store from which to distribute unlawful cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

They were able to uncover how simple it is for someone in these circumstances to establish and operate a business on the commercial area in public view. The individuals involved, we discovered, compensate Kurds who have UK citizenship to register the businesses in their identities, enabling to mislead the government agencies.

Saman and Ali also managed to covertly document one of those at the centre of the operation, who asserted that he could erase official fines of up to £60k faced those employing illegal employees.

"I sought to participate in revealing these illegal operations [...] to say that they don't represent Kurdish people," says Saman, a former asylum seeker himself. Saman came to the United Kingdom illegally, having fled Kurdistan - a territory that covers the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not globally acknowledged as a state - because his well-being was at danger.

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

But the other reporter explains that the illegal working "negatively affects the entire Kurdish-origin community" and he believes compelled to "bring it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

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

He explains this especially struck him when he discovered that extreme right campaigner a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom protest was occurring in the capital on one of the weekends he was working covertly. Banners and flags could be observed at the protest, reading "we want our country back".

Both journalists have both been monitoring online reaction to the investigation from within the Kurdish-origin population and say it has generated strong outrage for certain individuals. One Facebook message they observed stated: "In what way can we identify and locate [the undercover reporters] to attack them like dogs!"

A different called for their families in the Kurdish region to be harmed.

They have also seen claims that they were informants for the British government, and traitors to fellow Kurds. "Both of us are not informants, and we have no intention of hurting the Kurdish population," one reporter states. "Our objective is to uncover those who have harmed its standing. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish-origin identity and extremely concerned about the behavior of such persons."

Most of those seeking refugee status say they are escaping political persecution, according to an expert from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a charity that assists refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the case for our covert journalist one investigator, who, when he initially came to the UK, faced difficulties for many years. He says he had to live on under £20 a per week while his refugee application was considered.

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

"Honestly speaking, this is not enough to support a dignified lifestyle," states the expert from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are mostly prohibited from working, he thinks a significant number are open to being manipulated and are practically "compelled to labor in the unofficial sector for as little as £3 per hourly rate".

A representative for the Home Office commented: "The government make no apology for refusing to grant asylum seekers the right to work - doing so would create an motivation for individuals to come to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Refugee applications can take years to be processed with nearly a one-third taking over one year, according to government figures from the end of March this current year.

Saman states being employed without authorization in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or convenience store would have been quite easy to achieve, but he explained to us he would not have done that.

Nonetheless, he explains that those he interviewed laboring in unauthorized mini-marts during his research seemed "lost", particularly those whose refugee application has been refused and who were in the appeals process.

"They expended their entire money to come to the UK, they had their refugee application denied and now they've forfeited all they had."

Ali agrees that these individuals seemed hopeless.

"When [they] declare you're forbidden to work - but also [you]