Six Britons acting for the Wagner mercenary group linked to Russia have been sentenced to prison for setting fire to a London-based warehouse that was storing relief supplies destined for Ukraine.
Sentencing and Roles
Sentencing the men, the presiding judge at the central criminal court stated that they had orchestrated a “campaign of terrorism and sabotage” in the interests of the Russian government.
Dylan Earl received a 17-year jail term with an extra six-year period on supervised release due to his “primary involvement”. Another defendant, Jake Reeves, from Croydon in south London, was given twelve years in jail with one year on extended licence. Their admitted crimes resulted in them being the first individuals to be convicted under the National Security Act 2023.
Jakeem Rose, aged 23, also a Croydon resident, was sentenced to a term of eight years and ten months. Nii Mensah, from Thornton Heath, south London, was sentenced to nine years and Ugnius Asmena, 21, who was without a fixed address, was handed seven years. The trio were each found guilty of serious fire-setting and received a additional year on extended licence by the court.
Ashton Evans, a 20-year-old drug dealer hailing from Newport, Gwent, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment with an extra year on extended licence after being found guilty of failing to disclose details regarding acts of terrorism relating to a separate scheme in the Mayfair area.
Details of the Attack
The arson attack on a Leyton-based storage facility in East London endangered sixty fire service personnel and caused one million pounds worth of destruction in March last year.
The proceedings revealed that the 21-year-old Earl and the 24-year-old Reeves remained in their residences while organising the attack for the Wagner group, representing the Russian government.
The group selected the storage facility because it was being used to supply emergency relief and StarLink satellite equipment to Ukraine.
When the same Ukrainian company was hit by an intentional fire ten days afterward in Madrid, investigators from the Metropolitan Police's anti-terror unit assumed control of the probe.
Evidence and Further Plans
When Earl was taken into custody, law enforcement examination of his mobile phone uncovered he had recordings of the storage facility blaze being started and was in contact with the Wagner group on the Telegram messaging app, via an user profile with the handles ‘Privet Bot’ and ‘Lucky Strike’.
Some of the messages indicated that preliminary surveillance for additional operations, involving arson attacks at a restaurant and wine store in Mayfair district owned by the Russian opposition figure Evgeny Chichvarkin had already taken place. The use of explosives to damage buildings was also deliberated.
Detectives found that Earl was also raising the possibility of kidnapping Chichvarkin and “exiling him back to Russia to confront imprisonment”.
The individual involved in narcotics from Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire had discussed another potential attack in the Czech nation.
In a residence inspection, law enforcement located a flag of Russia, more than £20,000 in cash and cocaine hydrochloride with a street value of approximately thirty-four thousand pounds.
Driving Factors and Court Comments
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 attempts by the Russian government to acquire harmful worldwide sway using online platforms to enlist saboteurs far from the Russian capital.”
She determined the arson attack had a “link to terrorism” regardless of whether the perpetrators knew it. The Wagner organization is banned by the British authorities as a terrorist organisation.
