A group of six individuals from Britain acting for Russia’s Wagner group have been handed jail terms for setting fire to a London-based warehouse that was holding relief supplies intended for Ukraine.
Sentencing and Roles
While delivering the sentences, the presiding judge at the central criminal court remarked that they had planned a “series of terrorist and sabotage acts” to benefit the Russian government.
Dylan Earl received a 17-year prison sentence with an additional six years on extended licence due to his “primary involvement”. Jake Reeves, a resident of Croydon, South London, was sentenced to 12 years in prison with one year on extended licence. The offences they admitted resulted in them being the first individuals to be convicted under the 2023 National Security Act.
Jakeem Rose, aged 23, also a Croydon resident, was sentenced to eight years and 10 months. Nii Mensah, from Thornton Heath, south London, was given nine years and Ugnius Asmena, who was homeless, was handed seven years. These three individuals were each found guilty of aggravated arson and received a further year on supervised release by the court.
Ashton Evans, a 20-year-old drug dealer hailing from Newport, Gwent, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment with an extra year on supervised release after being convicted of withholding details regarding terrorist acts relating 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 resulted in £1m in damage in March of the previous year.
The proceedings revealed that the 21-year-old Earl and the 24-year-old Reeves remained in their residences while organising the attack for the Wagner mercenary organization, representing the Russian Federation.
The group targeted the warehouse because it was being utilized for providing emergency relief and StarLink satellite equipment to Ukraine.
When the same Ukrainian company was subjected to 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 taken into custody, law enforcement examination of his cellphone uncovered he had videos of the warehouse fire being initiated and was in contact with the Wagner organization on Telegram, via an account with the handles ‘Privet Bot account’ and ‘Lucky Strike alias’.
Some of the messages indicated that reconnaissance for further “missions”, involving fire-related incidents at a dining establishment and wine shop 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 considering the potential abduction of Chichvarkin and “sending him back to Russia to face prison”.
The individual involved in narcotics from Elmesthorpe in Leicestershire had discussed an additional planned incident in the Czech Republic.
In a search of his home, law enforcement located a Russian flag, 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 multiple pro-Russian propaganda channels and was motivated 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 found the arson attack had a “terrorist connection” irrespective of if the perpetrators knew it. The Wagner organization is proscribed by the British authorities as a terrorist group.
