Six Britons working on behalf of Russia’s Wagner group have been sentenced to prison for setting fire to a London-based storage unit that was storing humanitarian aid destined for Ukraine.
Court Rulings and Involvement
While delivering the sentences, the judge at the central criminal court stated 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 prison sentence with an extra six-year period on extended licence due to his “leading role”. Jake Reeves, a resident of Croydon, South London, was sentenced to twelve years in prison with an additional year on supervised release. The offences they admitted resulted in them being the first individuals to be found guilty under the National Security Act 2023.
Jakeem Rose, also from Croydon, was jailed for a term of eight years and ten months. Nii Mensah, from Thornton Heath, south London, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment and Ugnius Asmena, 21, who was homeless, was given seven years. These three individuals were each convicted of serious fire-setting and given a further year on supervised release 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 convicted of withholding information about acts of terrorism relating to a separate scheme in the Mayfair area.
Details of the Attack
The arson attack 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 proceedings revealed that the 21-year-old Earl and the 24-year-old Reeves remained in their residences while coordinating the incident for the Wagner mercenary organization, representing the Russian government.
The individuals involved targeted the storage facility because it was being utilized for providing humanitarian aid and StarLink satellite equipment to Ukraine.
When the same Ukrainian company was hit by an arson attack ten days afterward in Madrid, investigators from the Metropolitan Police's anti-terror unit took over the probe.
Evidence and Further Plans
When Earl was taken into custody, law enforcement examination of his cellphone revealed he had recordings of the storage facility blaze being initiated and was in communication 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 indicated that reconnaissance for further “missions”, involving arson attacks at a dining establishment and wine store in Mayfair owned by the Russian dissident Evgeny Chichvarkin had already taken place. The use of explosives to damage buildings was also discussed.
Detectives discovered that the defendant Earl was also considering the potential abduction of Chichvarkin and “sending him back to Russia to face prison”.
The individual involved in narcotics from Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire had talked about another potential attack in the Czech Republic.
In a search of his home, law enforcement located a Russian flag, more than £20,000 in cash and cocaine hydrochloride with a market 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 case is about the attempts by the Russian government to acquire harmful worldwide sway using online platforms to recruit disruptors vast distances from Moscow.”
She found the fire incident had a “terrorist connection” regardless of whether the perpetrators were aware of it. The Wagner group is proscribed by the UK government as a terrorist organisation.
