Six Britons working on behalf of the Wagner mercenary group linked to Russia have been handed jail terms for igniting a London-based warehouse that was holding relief supplies intended for Ukraine.
Sentencing and Roles
While delivering the sentences, the judge at the central criminal court stated that they had planned a “campaign of terrorism and sabotage” to benefit the Russian state.
Dylan Earl received a 17-year jail term with an extra six-year period on supervised release due to his “primary involvement”. Jake Reeves, from Croydon in south London, was sentenced to 12 years in prison with an additional 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 eight years and 10 months. Nii Mensah, from Thornton Heath, south London, 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 supervised release by the court.
Ashton Evans, a 20-year-old individual involved in drug trafficking from Newport in Gwent, was jailed for nine years plus a further year on extended licence after being convicted of withholding details regarding acts of terrorism connected to another plot in Mayfair.
Details of the Attack
The arson attack on a warehouse in Leyton, east London put 60 firefighters at risk and resulted in one million pounds worth of destruction in March last year.
The court heard that Earl, 21 and Reeves, 24 remained in their residences while organising the attack for the Wagner group, representing the Russian government.
The group targeted the warehouse 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 10 days later in Madrid, detectives from the Met’s counter-terrorism command took over the probe.
Evidence and Further Plans
When Earl was taken into custody, police analysis of his mobile phone revealed 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 account’ and ‘Lucky Strike alias’.
Some of the communications indicated that reconnaissance for additional operations, involving arson attacks at a restaurant and wine store in Mayfair belonging to the Russian dissident Evgeny Chichvarkin had already been carried out. The use of explosives to damage buildings was also deliberated.
Investigators found that the defendant Earl was also considering the potential abduction of the dissident Chichvarkin and “exiling him back to Russia to confront imprisonment”.
The individual involved in narcotics from Elmesthorpe in Leicestershire had talked about an additional planned incident in the Czech nation.
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 proceedings revealed he was a member of 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 online platforms to enlist saboteurs vast distances from Moscow.”
She determined 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 group.
