The Reasons Our Team Chose to Go Covert to Expose Crime in the Kurdish-origin Community

Two Kurdish men agreed to go undercover to uncover a organization behind illegal main street enterprises because the criminals are causing harm the reputation of Kurds in the Britain, they say.

The two, who we are referring to as Saman and Ali, are Kurdish reporters who have both lived lawfully in the United Kingdom for years.

The team uncovered that a Kurdish-linked criminal operation was running convenience stores, hair salons and vehicle cleaning services across Britain, and wanted to find out more about how it worked and who was involved.

Equipped with covert recording devices, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no right to work, looking to acquire and operate a mini-mart from which to sell contraband cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

They were successful to uncover how easy it is for an individual in these circumstances to establish and run a enterprise on the High Street in full view. Those participating, we discovered, compensate Kurds who have British citizenship to legally establish the businesses in their names, enabling to fool the authorities.

Saman and Ali also succeeded to secretly document one of those at the centre of the network, who asserted that he could eliminate official penalties of up to £60k encountered those hiring unauthorized workers.

"I sought to contribute in exposing these illegal activities [...] to say that they do not characterize Kurdish people," explains one reporter, a ex- refugee applicant himself. The reporter entered the UK illegally, having fled Kurdistan - a area that covers the boundaries of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not officially recognized as a state - because his safety was at risk.

The journalists recognize that disagreements over illegal migration are high in the UK and state they have both been concerned that the investigation could inflame tensions.

But Ali states that the illegal employment "negatively affects the whole Kurdish community" and he considers driven to "expose it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Additionally, Ali mentions he was anxious the reporting could be seized upon by the radical right.

He says this notably struck him when he noticed that extreme right campaigner Tommy Robinson's national unity rally was taking place in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was working secretly. Banners and flags could be observed at the protest, displaying "we want our country back".

The reporters have both been monitoring social media response to the inquiry from within the Kurdish-origin community and explain it has caused strong outrage for some. One social media post they found stated: "How can we find and track [the undercover reporters] to kill them like animals!"

Another demanded their families in the Kurdish region to be attacked.

They have also read accusations that they were informants for the British authorities, and traitors to fellow Kurds. "Both of us are not informants, and we have no desire of damaging the Kurdish-origin community," one reporter states. "Our goal is to uncover those who have damaged its reputation. We are honored of our Kurdish-origin heritage and deeply worried about the behavior of such people."

Most of those seeking asylum say they are fleeing politically motivated discrimination, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a refugee support organization, a non-profit that supports refugees and refugee applicants in the United Kingdom.

This was the situation for our covert reporter Saman, who, when he initially came to the UK, struggled for many years. He states he had to live on under twenty pounds a week while his asylum claim was processed.

Asylum seekers now receive approximately £49 a per week - or £9.95 if they are in housing which includes food, according to official policies.

"Honestly stating, this is not sufficient to maintain a respectable existence," explains the expert from the the organization.

Because refugee applicants are generally restricted from working, he thinks many are susceptible to being exploited and are practically "forced to work in the unofficial sector for as little as £3 per hourly rate".

A representative for the authorities commented: "The government are unapologetic for not granting asylum seekers the authorization to work - doing so would create an reason for people to migrate to the UK illegally."

Asylum cases can require years to be decided with nearly a third taking over one year, according to government figures from the spring this current year.

Saman explains being employed illegally in a car wash, hair salon or convenience store would have been very easy to do, but he explained to the team he would not have done that.

Nevertheless, he explains that those he encountered employed in illegal convenience stores during his research seemed "lost", particularly those whose refugee application has been refused and who were in the legal challenge.

"They used all their money to come to the United Kingdom, they had their refugee application refused and now they've lost everything."

The other reporter acknowledges that these individuals seemed hopeless.

"When [they] declare you're not allowed to be employed - but also [you]