Six Britons acting for the Wagner mercenary group linked to Russia have been sentenced to prison for setting fire to a located in London storage unit that was holding relief supplies destined for Ukraine.
Sentencing and Roles
Sentencing the men, the judge at the Old Bailey remarked that they had orchestrated a “campaign of terrorism and sabotage” to benefit the Russian state.
The individual named Dylan Earl was given a seventeen-year jail term with an extra six-year period on extended licence due to his “leading role”. Jake Reeves, a resident of Croydon, South London, was given twelve years in jail with an additional year on supervised release. Their admitted crimes resulted in them being the first individuals to be convicted under the National Security Act 2023.
Jakeem Rose, also a Croydon resident, was jailed for eight years and 10 months. Nii Mensah, 23, a Thornton Heath, South London local, was sentenced to nine years and Ugnius Asmena, 21, who was homeless, was given seven years. These three individuals were each convicted of aggravated arson and given a additional year on supervised release by the court.
Ashton Evans, a 20-year-old drug dealer from Newport in Gwent, was sentenced to nine years with an extra year on supervised release after being found guilty of withholding information about acts of terrorism connected to a separate scheme in the Mayfair area.
Details of the Attack
The deliberate fire on a warehouse in Leyton, east London endangered sixty fire service personnel and resulted in £1m in damage in March of the previous year.
The court heard that the 21-year-old Earl and the 24-year-old Reeves did not leave their bedrooms while organising the attack for the Wagner group, acting on behalf of the Russian Federation.
The group targeted the warehouse because it was being used to supply emergency relief and StarLink satellite equipment to Ukraine.
When the same Ukrainian company was subjected to an arson attack 10 days later in the Spanish capital, investigators from the Metropolitan Police's anti-terror unit assumed control of the probe.
Evidence and Further Plans
When Earl was arrested, law enforcement examination of his mobile phone uncovered he had videos of the storage facility blaze being started and was in contact with the Wagner group on the Telegram messaging app, via an account with the usernames ‘Privet Bot account’ and ‘Lucky Strike alias’.
Some of the messages showed that reconnaissance for further “missions”, involving fire-related incidents at a restaurant and wine shop in Mayfair owned by the Russian dissident Evgeny Chichvarkin had already taken place. The use of explosives to harm structures was also discussed.
Investigators found that the defendant Earl was also considering the possibility of kidnapping the dissident Chichvarkin and “exiling him back to Russia to confront imprisonment”.
The individual involved in narcotics from Elmesthorpe in Leicestershire had discussed an additional planned incident in the Czech Republic.
In a residence inspection, law enforcement located a Russian flag, over twenty thousand pounds in currency and cocaine with a market value of about £34,000.
Driving Factors and Court Comments
The proceedings revealed he was a participant in numerous pro-Russian propaganda channels and was motivated by “plain and severe avarice”.
“This case is about the attempts by the Russian government to acquire harmful worldwide sway using social media to recruit disruptors far from the Russian capital.”
She determined the fire incident had a “terrorist connection” irrespective of if the perpetrators were aware of it. The Wagner organization is proscribed by the UK government as a terrorist group.
