Six Britons acting for the Wagner mercenary group linked to Russia have been sentenced to prison for igniting a London-based storage unit that was holding relief supplies destined for Ukraine.
Sentencing and Roles
While delivering the sentences, the judge at the Old Bailey stated that they had planned a “campaign of terrorism and sabotage” in the interests of the Russian government.
Dylan Earl received a seventeen-year jail term with an extra six-year period on extended licence due to his “primary involvement”. Another defendant, Jake Reeves, a resident of Croydon, South London, was sentenced to 12 years in prison with one year on extended licence. Their admitted crimes resulted in them being the first individuals to be found guilty under the National Security Act 2023.
Jakeem Rose, aged 23, also a Croydon resident, was jailed for 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 given seven years. The trio were each found guilty of serious fire-setting and received a further year on extended licence by the court.
Ashton Evans individual involved in drug trafficking hailing from Newport, Gwent, was sentenced to nine years with an extra year on supervised release after being convicted of failing to disclose information about terrorist acts connected to another plot in the Mayfair area.
Details of the Attack
The deliberate fire on a Leyton-based storage facility in East London put 60 firefighters at risk and caused one million pounds worth of destruction in March last year.
The court heard that Earl, 21 and the 24-year-old Reeves remained in their residences while coordinating the incident for the Wagner mercenary organization, acting on behalf of the Russian Federation.
The individuals involved selected the warehouse because it was being utilized for providing emergency relief and satellite communication gear to Ukraine.
When the same Ukrainian company was hit by an arson attack ten days afterward in the Spanish capital, detectives from the Met’s counter-terrorism command assumed control of the probe.
Proof and Additional Schemes
When Earl was arrested, police analysis of his mobile phone revealed he had videos of the warehouse fire being initiated and was in communication with the Wagner group on Telegram, via an account with the handles ‘Privet Bot account’ and ‘Lucky Strike’.
Some of the communications indicated that preliminary surveillance for additional operations, involving fire-related incidents at a dining establishment and wine shop in Mayfair belonging to the Russian dissident Evgeny Chichvarkin had already taken place. The use of explosives to harm structures was also discussed.
Detectives found that Earl was also considering the possibility of kidnapping Chichvarkin and “exiling him back to Russia to confront imprisonment”.
The individual involved in narcotics from Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire had discussed an additional planned incident in the Czech Republic.
In a search of his home, law enforcement located a flag of Russia, more than £20,000 in cash and cocaine hydrochloride with a street value of about £34,000.
Motivations and Judicial Remarks
The court heard he was a participant in multiple channels promoting Russian propaganda and was driven by “plain and severe avarice”.
“This case is about the efforts of the Russian Federation to gain pernicious global influence using social media to enlist saboteurs far from the Russian capital.”
She found the fire incident had a “terrorist connection” regardless of whether the individuals responsible were aware of it. The Wagner group is proscribed by the UK government as a terrorist organisation.
