Six Britons acting for Russia’s Wagner group have been sentenced to prison for igniting a London-based storage unit that was holding humanitarian aid 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” in the interests of the Russian government.
Dylan Earl was given a 17-year prison sentence with an extra six-year period on supervised release due to his “leading role”. Another defendant, Jake Reeves, from Croydon in south London, was given twelve years in prison with an additional year on supervised release. The offences they admitted made them the initial persons to be convicted under the 2023 National Security Act.
Jakeem Rose, aged 23, also from Croydon, was jailed for eight years and 10 months. Nii Mensah, 23, a Thornton Heath, South London local, was sentenced to nine years and Ugnius Asmena, who was without a fixed address, was handed seven years in prison. These three individuals were each found guilty of serious fire-setting and given a further year on supervised release by the judge.
Ashton Evans individual involved in drug trafficking from Newport in Gwent, was jailed for nine years plus a further year on supervised release after being convicted of failing to disclose details regarding acts of terrorism connected to a separate scheme in the Mayfair area.
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 did not leave their bedrooms while organising the attack for the Wagner group, acting on behalf of the Russian Federation.
The group targeted the storage facility because it was being utilized for providing humanitarian aid and StarLink satellite equipment to Ukraine.
When the same Ukrainian company was hit by an intentional fire 10 days later in Madrid, investigators from the Metropolitan Police's anti-terror unit assumed control of the investigation.
Proof and Additional Schemes
When Earl was taken into custody, police analysis of his mobile phone revealed he had recordings of the warehouse fire being initiated and was in communication with the Wagner organization on the Telegram messaging app, via an user profile with the handles ‘Privet Bot’ and ‘Lucky Strike alias’.
Some of the messages 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 discussed.
Detectives discovered that the defendant Earl was also raising the possibility of kidnapping Chichvarkin and “sending him back to Russia to confront imprisonment”.
The individual involved in narcotics from Elmesthorpe in Leicestershire had talked about another potential attack in the Czech Republic.
In a search of his home, police found a Russian flag, over twenty thousand pounds in currency and cocaine with a market value of approximately thirty-four thousand pounds.
Driving Factors and Court Comments
The proceedings revealed he was a participant in multiple pro-Russian propaganda channels 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 enlist saboteurs 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 proscribed by the British authorities as a terrorist group.
