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

Two Kurdish-background men decided to go undercover to reveal a network behind illegal commercial businesses because the criminals are causing harm the reputation of Kurdish people in the UK, they say.

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

Investigators uncovered that a Kurdish illegal enterprise was operating convenience stores, hair salons and vehicle cleaning services the length of the UK, and wanted to discover more about how it worked and who was taking part.

Armed with secret recording devices, Ali and Saman posed as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no authorization to work, attempting to purchase and run a small shop from which to trade illegal cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

They were able to uncover how simple it is for someone in these conditions to start and operate a enterprise on the commercial area in full view. Those involved, we found, pay Kurds who have UK citizenship to register the operations in their names, assisting to mislead the officials.

Saman and Ali also were able to discreetly film one of those at the heart of the operation, who stated that he could remove official sanctions of up to £60,000 faced those using unauthorized employees.

"I sought to contribute in uncovering these unlawful operations [...] to declare that they don't represent us," says one reporter, a former refugee applicant personally. Saman entered the United Kingdom without authorization, having escaped from the Kurdish region - a area that straddles the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not internationally recognised as a country - because his safety was at risk.

The investigators acknowledge that conflicts over unauthorized immigration are elevated in the UK and say they have both been concerned that the investigation could worsen tensions.

But the other reporter says that the illegal working "damages the whole Kurdish-origin population" and he believes obligated to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Furthermore, Ali mentions he was anxious the coverage could be seized upon by the extreme right.

He states this particularly affected him when he noticed that radical right activist a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom march was happening in London on one of the weekends he was operating undercover. Banners and banners could be spotted at the protest, reading "we want our country returned".

The reporters have both been tracking social media feedback to the exposé from inside the Kurdish community and say it has generated intense frustration for some. One Facebook post they spotted said: "How can we locate and locate [the undercover reporters] to harm them like animals!"

Another called for their families in Kurdistan to be slaughtered.

They have also seen accusations that they were spies for the UK government, and traitors to other Kurdish people. "Both of us are not informants, and we have no aim of harming the Kurdish-origin population," one reporter explains. "Our aim is to reveal those who have harmed its image. We are proud of our Kurdish identity and extremely worried about the activities of such individuals."

Most of those applying for asylum state they are escaping political discrimination, according to an expert from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a charity that helps refugees and refugee applicants in the United Kingdom.

This was the case for our undercover journalist one investigator, who, when he first arrived to the United Kingdom, faced difficulties for many years. He explains he had to live on less than twenty pounds a per week while his asylum claim was reviewed.

Refugee applicants now get about £49 a per week - or £9.95 if they are in accommodation which includes meals, according to government guidance.

"Honestly speaking, this isn't enough to support a acceptable existence," explains the expert from the the organization.

Because refugee applicants are generally restricted from working, he believes many are vulnerable to being exploited and are practically "compelled to work in the black economy for as low as £3 per hour".

A representative for the government department said: "We do not apologize for refusing to grant asylum seekers the right to work - doing so would create an motivation for individuals to migrate to the United Kingdom illegally."

Refugee applications can take years to be processed with nearly a third requiring more than a year, according to official data from the spring this year.

The reporter says being employed illegally in a car wash, hair salon or mini-mart would have been very straightforward to accomplish, but he told us he would not have participated in that.

Nevertheless, he explains that those he met employed in illegal convenience stores during his work seemed "lost", especially those whose refugee application has been refused and who were in the appeal stage.

"They spent their entire funds to migrate to the UK, they had their refugee application denied and now they've lost their entire investment."

The other reporter agrees that these individuals seemed in dire straits.

"If [they] say you're forbidden to work - but simultaneously [you]