Six Britons acting for Russia’s Wagner group have been sentenced to prison for igniting a London-based warehouse that was holding relief supplies destined for Ukraine.
Sentencing and Roles
Sentencing the men, the presiding judge at the central criminal court remarked that they had planned a “series of terrorist and sabotage acts” in the interests of the Russian government.
Dylan Earl was given a 17-year jail term with an extra six-year period on extended licence due to his “primary involvement”. Jake Reeves, a resident of Croydon, South London, was given 12 years in prison with an additional year on extended licence. The offences they admitted resulted in them being the initial persons to be convicted under the 2023 National Security Act.
Jakeem Rose, also a Croydon resident, was sentenced to a term of eight years and ten months. Nii Mensah, 23, from Thornton Heath, south London, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment and Ugnius Asmena, 21, who was homeless, was handed seven years in prison. These three individuals were each found guilty of serious fire-setting and given a further year on extended licence by the court.
Ashton Evans drug dealer hailing from Newport, Gwent, was jailed for nine years plus a further year on supervised release after being found guilty of withholding information about acts of terrorism relating to another plot in the Mayfair area.
Details of the Attack
The deliberate fire on a Leyton-based storage facility in East London endangered sixty fire service personnel and caused £1m in damage in March last year.
The proceedings revealed that Earl, 21 and Reeves, 24 remained in their residences while organising the attack for the Wagner mercenary organization, 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 intentional fire ten days afterward in Madrid, detectives from the Met’s counter-terrorism command took over the probe.
Evidence and Further Plans
When Earl was arrested, law enforcement examination of his mobile phone revealed he had recordings of the warehouse fire being initiated and was in communication with the Wagner group on Telegram, via an user profile with the usernames ‘Privet Bot’ and ‘Lucky Strike’.
Some of the messages showed that reconnaissance for further “missions”, involving fire-related incidents at a dining establishment and wine store in Mayfair district owned by the Russian dissident Evgeny Chichvarkin had already been carried out. The use of explosives to damage buildings was also discussed.
Investigators found that Earl was also considering the possibility of kidnapping the dissident Chichvarkin and “sending him back to Russia to face prison”.
The drug dealer from Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire had discussed another potential attack in the Czech nation.
In a search of his home, police located a flag of Russia, over twenty thousand pounds in currency and cocaine hydrochloride with a street value of about £34,000.
Driving Factors and Court Comments
The proceedings revealed 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 social media to enlist saboteurs vast distances from Moscow.”
She determined the arson attack had a “terrorist connection” regardless of whether the individuals responsible knew it. The Wagner group is banned by the UK government as a terrorist organisation.
