Six Britons working on behalf of the Wagner mercenary group linked to Russia have been sentenced to prison for setting fire to a located in London warehouse that was storing humanitarian aid intended for Ukraine.
Sentencing and Roles
Sentencing the men, the judge at the Old Bailey stated that they had planned a “campaign of terrorism and sabotage” to benefit the Russian government.
The individual named Dylan Earl received a seventeen-year prison sentence with an additional six years on extended licence due to his “primary involvement”. Another defendant, Jake Reeves, a resident of Croydon, South London, was sentenced to twelve years in jail with an additional year on supervised release. The offences they admitted made them the first individuals to be convicted under the 2023 National Security Act.
Jakeem Rose, also a Croydon resident, was sentenced to eight years and 10 months. Nii Mensah, 23, a Thornton Heath, South London local, was given nine years imprisonment and Ugnius Asmena, who was without a fixed address, was given seven years in prison. These three individuals were each convicted of serious fire-setting and received a further year on extended licence by the court.
Ashton Evans, a 20-year-old individual involved in drug trafficking hailing from Newport, Gwent, was sentenced to nine years plus a further year on supervised release after being found guilty of withholding details regarding acts of terrorism connected to a separate scheme in the Mayfair area.
Incident Specifics
The arson attack on a Leyton-based storage facility in East London put 60 firefighters at risk and caused £1m in damage in March last year.
The proceedings revealed that Earl, 21 and the 24-year-old Reeves remained in their residences while coordinating the incident 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 subjected to an arson attack ten days afterward 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 taken into custody, police analysis of his cellphone revealed he had recordings of the storage facility blaze being started and was in communication with the Wagner organization on Telegram, via an user profile with the handles ‘Privet Bot’ and ‘Lucky Strike alias’.
Some of the communications indicated that preliminary surveillance for additional operations, involving fire-related incidents 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 harm structures was also discussed.
Detectives found that the defendant Earl was also considering the possibility of kidnapping the dissident Chichvarkin and “sending him back to Russia to face prison”.
The drug dealer from Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire had talked about another potential attack in the Czech Republic.
In a search of his home, police located 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 court heard he was a participant in numerous pro-Russian propaganda channels 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 found the fire incident had a “terrorist connection” irrespective of if the individuals responsible knew it. The Wagner group is banned by the British authorities as a terrorist organisation.
