Six Britons acting for Russia’s Wagner group have been handed jail terms for setting fire to a London-based warehouse that was holding humanitarian aid destined for Ukraine.
Sentencing and Roles
Sentencing the men, the judge at the Old Bailey stated that they had planned a “series of terrorist and sabotage acts” to benefit the Russian government.
Dylan Earl was given a seventeen-year jail term with an additional six years on supervised release due to his “primary involvement”. Jake Reeves, a resident of Croydon, South London, was given 12 years in prison with an additional year on supervised release. Their admitted crimes resulted in them being the first individuals to be found guilty under the National Security Act 2023.
Jakeem Rose, also a Croydon resident, was sentenced to eight years and 10 months. Nii Mensah, from Thornton Heath, south London, was sentenced to nine years and Ugnius Asmena, who was without a fixed address, was handed seven years. These three individuals were each found guilty of serious fire-setting and given 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 imprisonment plus a further year on supervised release after being convicted of withholding information about acts of terrorism relating to a separate scheme in Mayfair.
Details of the Attack
The arson attack on a warehouse in Leyton, 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 the 21-year-old Earl 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 government.
The individuals involved selected the storage facility because it was being used to supply humanitarian aid and satellite communication gear to Ukraine.
When the identical Ukrainian firm was hit by an intentional fire ten days afterward in the Spanish capital, detectives from the Met’s counter-terrorism command took over the probe.
Evidence and Further Plans
When Earl was taken into custody, law enforcement examination of his cellphone uncovered he had recordings of the warehouse fire being started and was in contact with the Wagner group on the Telegram messaging app, via an account with the handles ‘Privet Bot’ and ‘Lucky Strike’.
Some of the communications showed that preliminary surveillance for further “missions”, involving arson attacks at a dining establishment and wine store in Mayfair belonging to the Russian opposition figure Evgeny Chichvarkin had already taken place. The employment of explosive devices to harm structures was also deliberated.
Detectives discovered that Earl was also raising the potential abduction of Chichvarkin and “exiling him back to Russia to face prison”.
The drug dealer from Elmesthorpe in Leicestershire had discussed another potential attack in the Czech Republic.
In a residence inspection, law enforcement located a flag of Russia, more than £20,000 in cash and cocaine hydrochloride with a street 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 motivated by “plain and severe avarice”.
“This case is about the attempts by the Russian government to gain pernicious global influence using online platforms to recruit disruptors vast distances from Moscow.”
She determined the arson attack had a “terrorist connection” regardless of whether the individuals responsible knew it. The Wagner group is banned by the UK government as a terrorist organisation.
