Six Britons acting for Russia’s Wagner group have been sentenced to prison for setting fire to a London-based storage unit that was storing humanitarian aid intended for Ukraine.
Court Rulings and Involvement
While delivering the sentences, the judge at the central criminal court remarked that they had planned a “series of terrorist and sabotage acts” to benefit the Russian government.
Dylan Earl received a 17-year jail term with an additional six years on supervised release due to his “leading role”. Another defendant, Jake Reeves, from Croydon in south London, was sentenced to twelve years in jail with an additional year on supervised release. The offences they admitted resulted in them being the first individuals to be convicted under the 2023 National Security Act.
Jakeem Rose, also from Croydon, was sentenced to eight years and 10 months. Nii Mensah, 23, a Thornton Heath, South London local, was given nine years and Ugnius Asmena, who was without a fixed address, was handed seven years. These three individuals were each found guilty of aggravated arson and received a additional year on supervised release by the court.
Ashton Evans individual involved in drug trafficking from Newport in Gwent, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment with an extra year on supervised release after being found guilty of withholding information about acts of terrorism connected to another plot in Mayfair.
Details of the Attack
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 the 21-year-old Earl and the 24-year-old Reeves remained in their residences while organising the attack for the Wagner mercenary organization, acting on behalf of the Russian Federation.
The individuals involved selected the storage facility because it was being used to supply emergency relief and StarLink satellite equipment to Ukraine.
When the identical Ukrainian firm was subjected to an intentional fire 10 days later in the Spanish capital, investigators from the Metropolitan Police's anti-terror unit assumed control of the probe.
Evidence and Further Plans
When Earl was arrested, police analysis of his mobile phone revealed he had recordings of the storage facility blaze being initiated and was in communication with the Wagner organization on Telegram, via an account with the handles ‘Privet Bot’ and ‘Lucky Strike’.
Some of the messages showed that preliminary surveillance for further “missions”, involving fire-related incidents at a dining establishment and wine store in Mayfair owned by the Russian opposition figure Evgeny Chichvarkin had already taken place. The use of explosives to damage buildings was also deliberated.
Investigators found that the defendant Earl was also considering the potential abduction of Chichvarkin and “exiling him back to Russia to confront imprisonment”.
The drug dealer from Elmesthorpe in Leicestershire had talked about another potential attack in the Czech Republic.
In a search of his home, police located a Russian flag, more than £20,000 in cash and cocaine with a market value of about £34,000.
Motivations and Judicial Remarks
The court heard he was a member of multiple channels promoting Russian propaganda and was driven by “simple and ugly greed”.
“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 arson attack had a “terrorist connection” regardless of whether the perpetrators knew it. The Wagner organization is proscribed by the UK government as a terrorist organisation.
