Six Britons acting for Russia’s Wagner group have been handed jail terms for igniting a London-based warehouse that was storing relief supplies intended for Ukraine.
Sentencing and Roles
While delivering the sentences, the presiding judge at the Old Bailey remarked that they had orchestrated a “campaign of terrorism and sabotage” in the interests of the Russian government.
The individual named Dylan Earl received a 17-year jail term with an additional six years on extended licence due to his “leading role”. Another defendant, Jake Reeves, a resident of Croydon, South London, was given twelve years in jail with an additional year on supervised release. Their admitted crimes made them the first individuals to be convicted under the 2023 National Security Act.
Jakeem Rose, aged 23, also a Croydon resident, was jailed for eight years and 10 months. Nii Mensah, a Thornton Heath, South London local, was given nine years imprisonment and Ugnius Asmena, who was homeless, was handed seven years. The trio were each found guilty of serious fire-setting and received a additional year on extended licence 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 found guilty of failing to disclose information about acts of terrorism relating to another plot in the Mayfair area.
Details of the Attack
The deliberate fire on a Leyton-based storage facility in East London put 60 firefighters at risk and caused £1m in damage in March last year.
The court heard that the 21-year-old Earl and Reeves, 24 remained in their residences while coordinating the incident for the Wagner group, representing the Russian government.
The group targeted the storage facility because it was being used to supply emergency relief and satellite communication gear to Ukraine.
When the identical Ukrainian firm was subjected to an intentional fire 10 days later in the Spanish capital, detectives from the Met’s counter-terrorism command took over the investigation.
Proof and Additional Schemes
When Earl was arrested, police analysis of his cellphone revealed he had recordings of the warehouse fire being initiated and was in communication with the Wagner group on Telegram, via an account with the usernames ‘Privet Bot’ and ‘Lucky Strike alias’.
Some of the communications indicated that reconnaissance for additional operations, involving fire-related incidents at a dining establishment and wine store in Mayfair district owned by the Russian dissident Evgeny Chichvarkin had already taken place. The use of explosives to harm structures was also deliberated.
Detectives found that Earl was also raising the possibility of kidnapping Chichvarkin and “sending him back to Russia to confront imprisonment”.
The drug dealer from Elmesthorpe in Leicestershire had discussed an additional planned incident in the Czech Republic.
In a residence inspection, law enforcement located a flag of Russia, over twenty thousand pounds in currency 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 numerous channels promoting Russian propaganda and was motivated by “plain and severe avarice”.
“This case is about the attempts by the Russian government to acquire harmful worldwide sway using online platforms to enlist saboteurs vast distances from Moscow.”
She determined the arson attack had a “link to terrorism” irrespective of if the perpetrators were aware of it. The Wagner group is proscribed by the British authorities as a terrorist organisation.
