A group of six individuals from Britain acting for the Wagner mercenary group linked to Russia have been handed jail terms for setting fire to a London-based warehouse that was storing relief supplies intended for Ukraine.
Sentencing and Roles
Sentencing the men, the presiding judge at the central criminal court stated that they had planned a “campaign of terrorism and sabotage” in the interests of the Russian government.
Dylan Earl was given a 17-year jail term with an additional six years on extended licence due to his “leading role”. Jake Reeves, from Croydon in south London, was given 12 years in jail with an additional year on supervised release. Their admitted crimes made them the first individuals to be found guilty under the National Security Act 2023.
Jakeem Rose, also a Croydon resident, was sentenced to eight years and 10 months. Nii Mensah, 23, from Thornton Heath, south London, was given nine years imprisonment and Ugnius Asmena, 21, who was without a fixed address, was handed seven years in prison. These three individuals were each convicted of serious fire-setting and received a additional year on extended licence by the court.
Ashton Evans, a 20-year-old individual involved in drug trafficking hailing from Newport, Gwent, was sentenced to nine years plus a further year on extended licence after being found guilty of withholding information about terrorist acts relating to a separate scheme in Mayfair.
Details of the Attack
The deliberate fire on a warehouse in Leyton, east London endangered sixty fire service personnel and caused one million pounds worth of destruction in March last year.
The court heard that the 21-year-old Earl and Reeves, 24 did not leave their bedrooms while organising the attack for the Wagner group, acting on behalf of the Russian Federation.
The group targeted the storage facility because it was being utilized for providing humanitarian aid and StarLink satellite equipment to Ukraine.
When the identical Ukrainian firm was subjected to an arson attack 10 days later in Madrid, detectives from the Met’s counter-terrorism command assumed control of the probe.
Evidence and Further Plans
When Earl was arrested, law enforcement examination of his cellphone revealed he had recordings of the warehouse fire being started and was in contact with the Wagner group on the Telegram messaging app, via an user profile with the usernames ‘Privet Bot’ and ‘Lucky Strike alias’.
Some of the communications showed that reconnaissance for further “missions”, involving fire-related incidents at a dining establishment and wine shop in Mayfair owned by the Russian opposition figure Evgeny Chichvarkin had already taken place. The use of explosives to harm structures was also discussed.
Investigators found that Earl was also considering the potential abduction of the dissident Chichvarkin and “exiling him back to Russia to face prison”.
The drug dealer from Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire had talked about an additional planned incident in the Czech Republic.
In a search of his home, police located a Russian flag, more than £20,000 in cash and cocaine hydrochloride with a market value of about £34,000.
Motivations and Judicial Remarks
The court heard he was a member of multiple channels promoting Russian propaganda and was driven by “plain and severe avarice”.
“This legal matter concerns the efforts of the Russian Federation to acquire harmful worldwide sway using online platforms to recruit disruptors vast distances from Moscow.”
She found the arson attack had a “terrorist connection” regardless of whether the individuals responsible knew it. The Wagner group is proscribed by the UK government as a terrorist group.
