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

Two Kurdish-background individuals consented to operate secretly to expose a organization behind illegal commercial establishments because the lawbreakers are causing harm the standing of Kurdish people in the UK, they explain.

The pair, who we are referring to as Ali and Saman, are Kurdish-origin reporters who have both lived legally in the UK for years.

Investigators uncovered that a Kurdish illegal enterprise was running mini-marts, hair salons and car washes across the United Kingdom, and wanted to discover more about how it operated and who was involved.

Armed with secret cameras, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish asylum seekers with no right to be employed, attempting to purchase and operate a mini-mart from which to sell unlawful cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were successful to reveal how easy it is for a person in these situations to establish and manage a commercial operation on the commercial area in public view. The individuals participating, we discovered, compensate Kurds who have UK citizenship to legally establish the operations in their identities, assisting to mislead the officials.

Ali and Saman also were able to covertly film one of those at the centre of the operation, who stated that he could remove government sanctions of up to £60,000 imposed on those employing illegal employees.

"Personally sought to play a role in uncovering these illegal operations [...] to say that they do not represent us," states Saman, a former asylum seeker personally. The reporter entered the country without authorization, having escaped from the Kurdish region - a area that spans the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not officially recognized as a state - because his safety was at risk.

The investigators acknowledge that tensions over unauthorized immigration are significant in the United Kingdom and explain they have both been worried that the investigation could intensify hostilities.

But the other reporter states that the unauthorized employment "damages the entire Kurdish-origin population" and he considers obligated to "bring it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Additionally, Ali explains he was worried the publication could be exploited by the radical right.

He states this notably affected him when he discovered that far-right campaigner Tommy Robinson's national unity march was occurring in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was working covertly. Placards and banners could be spotted at the protest, showing "we want our nation back".

The reporters have both been monitoring social media feedback to the exposé from within the Kurdish-origin population and say it has caused significant outrage for some. One Facebook post they spotted read: "In what way can we identify and locate [the undercover reporters] to kill them like animals!"

Another urged their relatives in the Kurdish region to be attacked.

They have also read accusations that they were spies for the British authorities, and traitors to other Kurdish people. "Both of us are not informants, and we have no desire of hurting the Kurdish-origin community," one reporter explains. "Our aim is to expose those who have compromised its image. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish heritage and deeply troubled about the activities of such persons."

The majority of those seeking asylum claim they are escaping politically motivated oppression, according to an expert from the a refugee support organization, a non-profit that helps refugees and asylum seekers in the United Kingdom.

This was the case for our covert journalist Saman, who, when he first arrived to the United Kingdom, experienced challenges for many years. He explains he had to survive on under £20 a per week while his refugee application was processed.

Asylum seekers now are provided approximately £49 a week - or £9.95 if they are in shelter which includes food, according to government regulations.

"Practically speaking, this is not enough to maintain a respectable existence," explains the expert from the the organization.

Because asylum seekers are mostly restricted from working, he thinks a significant number are open to being manipulated and are essentially "compelled to labor in the illegal sector for as low as three pounds per hourly rate".

A representative for the authorities said: "The government make no apology for denying refugee applicants the authorization to be employed - doing so would generate an reason for individuals to migrate to the United Kingdom illegally."

Refugee applications can require years to be processed with approximately a 33% requiring more than 12 months, according to official data from the late March this current year.

Saman says being employed illegally in a car wash, hair salon or convenience store would have been quite straightforward to do, but he told the team he would never have done that.

Nevertheless, he says that those he encountered laboring in illegal mini-marts during his investigation seemed "lost", notably those whose asylum claim has been refused and who were in the appeal stage.

"These individuals expended their entire funds to come to the United Kingdom, they had their refugee application rejected and now they've forfeited their entire investment."

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

"If [they] say you're prohibited to be employed - but additionally [you]