Six Britons acting for Russia’s Wagner group have been sentenced to prison for setting fire to a located in London storage unit that was storing relief supplies destined for Ukraine.
Sentencing and Roles
Sentencing the men, the judge at the Old Bailey remarked that they had planned a “series of terrorist and sabotage acts” in the interests of the Russian state.
Dylan Earl was given a seventeen-year prison sentence with an additional six years on supervised release due to his “leading role”. Jake Reeves, a resident of Croydon, South London, was given 12 years in jail 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 a Croydon resident, 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, who was without a fixed address, was given seven years. These three individuals were each convicted of serious fire-setting and given a additional year on extended licence by the court.
Ashton Evans, a 20-year-old individual involved in drug trafficking from Newport in Gwent, was sentenced to nine years with an extra year on extended licence after being convicted of withholding information about acts of terrorism relating to a separate scheme 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 resulted in £1m in damage in March of the previous year.
The proceedings revealed that Earl, 21 and the 24-year-old Reeves remained in their residences while organising the attack for the Wagner group, acting on behalf of the Russian government.
The individuals involved targeted the storage facility because it was being used to supply humanitarian aid and satellite communication gear to Ukraine.
When the same Ukrainian company was subjected to an intentional fire ten days afterward in the Spanish capital, detectives from the Met’s counter-terrorism command assumed control of the investigation.
Proof and Additional Schemes
When Earl was arrested, law enforcement examination of his mobile phone revealed he had recordings of the warehouse fire being initiated and was in contact with the Wagner group on the Telegram messaging app, via an account with the handles ‘Privet Bot account’ and ‘Lucky Strike alias’.
Some of the communications showed that preliminary surveillance for additional operations, involving arson attacks at a restaurant and wine shop in Mayfair district belonging to the Russian opposition figure Evgeny Chichvarkin had already been carried out. The use of explosives to harm structures was also deliberated.
Detectives found 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 in Leicestershire had discussed another potential attack in the Czech nation.
In a residence inspection, law enforcement found a flag of Russia, more than £20,000 in cash and cocaine with a street value of approximately thirty-four thousand pounds.
Driving Factors and Court Comments
The proceedings revealed he was a participant in numerous pro-Russian propaganda channels and was driven by “simple and ugly greed”.
“This legal matter concerns the efforts of the Russian Federation to acquire harmful worldwide sway using social media to recruit disruptors far from the Russian capital.”
She determined the arson attack had a “terrorist connection” irrespective of if the individuals responsible knew it. The Wagner group is banned by the UK government as a terrorist group.
