A group of six individuals from Britain acting for the Wagner mercenary group linked to Russia have been handed jail terms for igniting a London-based warehouse that was holding relief supplies intended for Ukraine.
Sentencing and Roles
Sentencing the men, the judge at the Old Bailey remarked that they had planned a “campaign of terrorism and sabotage” in the interests of the Russian state.
The individual named Dylan Earl received a 17-year jail term with an extra six-year period on extended licence due to his “leading role”. Another defendant, Jake Reeves, from Croydon in south London, was given 12 years in jail with one year on supervised release. Their admitted crimes made them the first individuals to be convicted under the National Security Act 2023.
Jakeem Rose, aged 23, also from Croydon, was jailed for a term of eight years and ten months. Nii Mensah, 23, from Thornton Heath, south London, was given nine years and Ugnius Asmena, who was without a fixed address, was handed seven years. These three individuals were each convicted of aggravated arson and received a additional year on supervised release 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 supervised release after being convicted of failing to disclose information about terrorist acts connected to another plot in Mayfair.
Details of the Attack
The arson attack on a Leyton-based storage facility in East London endangered sixty fire service personnel and caused £1m in damage in March of the previous year.
The court heard that the 21-year-old Earl and Reeves, 24 remained in their residences while organising the attack for the Wagner group, acting on behalf of the Russian Federation.
The individuals involved targeted the storage facility because it was being used to supply humanitarian aid and StarLink satellite equipment to Ukraine.
When the same Ukrainian company was subjected to an arson attack ten days afterward in Madrid, investigators from the Metropolitan Police's anti-terror unit assumed control of the investigation.
Evidence and Further Plans
When Earl was taken into custody, law enforcement examination of his cellphone 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’ and ‘Lucky Strike alias’.
Some of the communications showed that preliminary surveillance for additional operations, involving fire-related incidents at a dining establishment and wine shop in Mayfair district belonging to the Russian opposition figure Evgeny Chichvarkin had already taken place. The use of explosives to damage buildings was also discussed.
Detectives found that the defendant Earl was also raising the potential abduction of 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 nation.
In a search of his home, police located a flag of Russia, more than £20,000 in cash and cocaine with a street 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 efforts of the Russian Federation to acquire harmful worldwide sway using online platforms to enlist saboteurs vast distances from Moscow.”
She found the arson attack had a “link to terrorism” regardless of whether the perpetrators knew it. The Wagner group is proscribed by the UK government as a terrorist group.
