Six Britons working on behalf of Russia’s Wagner group have been sentenced to prison for setting fire to a London-based storage unit that was holding 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 state.
Dylan Earl received a 17-year jail term with an additional six years on extended licence due to his “primary involvement”. Jake Reeves, from Croydon in south London, was given 12 years in jail with an additional year on extended licence. The offences they admitted resulted in them being the first individuals to be convicted under the National Security Act 2023.
Jakeem Rose, also from Croydon, was sentenced to eight years and 10 months. Nii Mensah, 23, from Thornton Heath, south London, 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 convicted of aggravated arson and received a further year on supervised release by the court.
Ashton Evans individual involved in drug trafficking from Newport in Gwent, was jailed for nine years with an extra year on extended licence after being convicted of withholding details regarding acts of terrorism relating to a separate scheme 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 resulted in one million pounds worth of destruction in March last year.
The court heard that the 21-year-old Earl and the 24-year-old Reeves remained in their residences while coordinating the incident for the Wagner mercenary organization, 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 identical Ukrainian firm was hit by an arson attack 10 days later in Madrid, detectives from the Met’s counter-terrorism command took over the investigation.
Evidence and Further Plans
When Earl was arrested, police analysis of his mobile phone uncovered he had videos of the storage facility blaze being initiated and was in communication with the Wagner organization on Telegram, via an user profile with the handles ‘Privet Bot’ and ‘Lucky Strike’.
Some of the communications indicated that reconnaissance for additional operations, involving arson attacks at a dining establishment and wine shop in Mayfair district belonging to the Russian dissident Evgeny Chichvarkin had already been carried out. The employment of explosive devices to harm structures was also deliberated.
Detectives discovered that Earl was also considering the potential abduction of the dissident Chichvarkin and “sending 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 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 about £34,000.
Driving Factors and Court Comments
The court heard 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 social media to enlist saboteurs far from the Russian capital.”
She determined the arson attack had a “link to terrorism” irrespective of if the individuals responsible were aware of it. The Wagner group is banned by the British authorities as a terrorist group.
