Six Britons working on behalf of Russia’s Wagner group have been sentenced to prison for igniting a London-based storage unit that was storing humanitarian aid destined for Ukraine.
Sentencing and Roles
Sentencing the men, the presiding judge at the Old Bailey remarked that they had planned a “series of terrorist and sabotage acts” to benefit the Russian government.
Dylan Earl was given a 17-year prison sentence with an extra six-year period on supervised release due to his “primary involvement”. Jake Reeves, from Croydon in south London, was sentenced to twelve years in jail with one year on supervised release. The offences they admitted made them the first individuals to be convicted 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, 21, who was homeless, was given seven years. The trio were each found guilty of aggravated arson and received a further year on extended licence by the court.
Ashton Evans drug dealer hailing from Newport, Gwent, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment plus a further year on extended licence after being found guilty of failing to disclose details regarding acts of terrorism connected 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 caused one million pounds worth of destruction in March of the previous year.
The court heard that Earl, 21 and Reeves, 24 remained in their residences while coordinating the incident for the Wagner group, acting on behalf of the Russian government.
The group targeted the warehouse 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 10 days later in the Spanish capital, investigators from the Metropolitan Police's anti-terror unit assumed control of the probe.
Proof and Additional Schemes
When Earl was arrested, police analysis of his cellphone revealed he had recordings of the storage facility blaze being started and was in contact with the Wagner organization on Telegram, via an account with the handles ‘Privet Bot’ and ‘Lucky Strike alias’.
Some of the communications showed that reconnaissance for additional operations, involving fire-related incidents at a restaurant and wine shop in Mayfair owned by the Russian opposition figure Evgeny Chichvarkin had already been carried out. The employment of explosive devices to harm structures was also discussed.
Detectives found that the defendant Earl was also raising the possibility of kidnapping the dissident Chichvarkin and “sending him back to Russia to confront imprisonment”.
The drug dealer from Elmesthorpe in Leicestershire had talked about another potential attack in the Czech nation.
In a search of his home, police found a flag of Russia, over twenty thousand pounds in currency and cocaine hydrochloride with a street value of approximately thirty-four thousand pounds.
Driving Factors and Court Comments
The proceedings revealed he was a participant in multiple 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 online platforms to enlist saboteurs vast distances from Moscow.”
She determined the fire incident had a “terrorist connection” regardless of whether the individuals responsible were aware of it. The Wagner group is banned by the British authorities as a terrorist organisation.
