Six Britons acting for the Wagner mercenary group linked to Russia have been sentenced to prison for setting fire to a London-based warehouse that was storing relief supplies destined for Ukraine.
Sentencing and Roles
While delivering the sentences, the judge at the Old Bailey stated that they had orchestrated a “campaign of terrorism and sabotage” to benefit the Russian state.
The individual named Dylan Earl was given a seventeen-year prison sentence with an additional six years on extended licence due to his “leading role”. Jake Reeves, from Croydon in south London, was given 12 years in prison with an additional year on supervised release. The offences they admitted made them the first individuals to be found guilty under the National Security Act 2023.
Jakeem Rose, also a Croydon resident, was jailed for eight years and 10 months. Nii Mensah, 23, from Thornton Heath, south London, was given nine years and Ugnius Asmena, 21, who was homeless, was handed seven years in prison. These three individuals were each convicted of serious fire-setting and given a further year on supervised release by the judge.
Ashton Evans, a 20-year-old individual involved in drug trafficking from Newport in Gwent, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment plus a further year on extended licence after being found guilty of withholding information about terrorist acts relating to a separate scheme in the Mayfair area.
Incident Specifics
The deliberate fire on a Leyton-based storage facility in East London endangered sixty fire service personnel and resulted in one million pounds worth of destruction in March last year.
The proceedings revealed that the 21-year-old Earl and Reeves, 24 did not leave their bedrooms while coordinating the incident for the Wagner group, acting on behalf of the Russian government.
The individuals involved selected the warehouse because it was being used to supply emergency relief and StarLink satellite equipment to Ukraine.
When the identical Ukrainian firm 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 investigation.
Evidence and Further Plans
When Earl was arrested, police analysis of his mobile phone uncovered he had recordings of the warehouse fire being started and was in contact with the Wagner group on Telegram, via an user profile with the usernames ‘Privet Bot account’ and ‘Lucky Strike’.
Some of the messages showed that preliminary surveillance for additional operations, involving arson attacks at a dining establishment and wine store in Mayfair belonging to 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 Earl was also considering the potential abduction of Chichvarkin and “sending him back to Russia to face prison”.
The drug dealer from Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire had discussed another potential attack in the Czech Republic.
In a search of his home, police located a flag of Russia, over twenty thousand pounds in currency and cocaine hydrochloride with a market 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 driven by “simple and ugly greed”.
“This legal matter concerns the efforts of the Russian Federation to gain pernicious global influence using online platforms to enlist saboteurs far from the Russian capital.”
She determined the arson attack had a “terrorist connection” regardless of whether the individuals responsible were aware of it. The Wagner organization is banned by the British authorities as a terrorist group.
