A group of six individuals from Britain acting for the Wagner mercenary group linked to Russia have been sentenced to prison for igniting a located in London warehouse that was storing relief supplies intended for Ukraine.
Sentencing and Roles
While delivering the sentences, the presiding judge at the Old Bailey stated that they had orchestrated a “series of terrorist and sabotage acts” in the interests of the Russian government.
The individual named Dylan Earl received a 17-year prison sentence with an extra six-year period on supervised release due to his “primary involvement”. Jake Reeves, a resident of Croydon, South London, was given twelve years in jail with an additional year on supervised release. The offences they admitted resulted in them being the first individuals to be found guilty under the 2023 National Security Act.
Jakeem Rose, also from Croydon, was jailed for eight years and 10 months. Nii Mensah, a Thornton Heath, South London local, was given nine years and Ugnius Asmena, who was homeless, was handed seven years. These three individuals were each found guilty of serious fire-setting and received a further year on supervised release by the judge.
Ashton Evans drug dealer hailing from Newport, Gwent, was sentenced to nine years with an extra year on supervised release after being convicted of failing to disclose information about terrorist acts relating to another plot in the Mayfair area.
Details of the Attack
The arson attack on a warehouse in Leyton, 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 the 24-year-old Reeves remained in their residences while organising the attack for the Wagner group, acting on behalf of the Russian Federation.
The group targeted the warehouse because it was being used to supply emergency relief and StarLink satellite equipment to Ukraine.
When the identical Ukrainian firm was subjected to an arson attack 10 days later in the Spanish capital, 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 revealed 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 handles ‘Privet Bot’ and ‘Lucky Strike alias’.
Some of the messages indicated that preliminary surveillance for further “missions”, involving arson attacks at a dining establishment and wine shop in Mayfair owned by the Russian opposition figure Evgeny Chichvarkin had already been carried out. The use of explosives to damage buildings was also discussed.
Investigators discovered 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, Leicestershire had talked about another potential attack in the Czech Republic.
In a search of his home, law enforcement found a flag of Russia, over twenty thousand pounds in currency and cocaine hydrochloride with a street value of approximately thirty-four thousand pounds.
Motivations and Judicial Remarks
The court heard he was a member of multiple pro-Russian propaganda channels and was driven by “simple and ugly greed”.
“This legal matter concerns the attempts by the Russian government to gain pernicious global influence using social media to enlist saboteurs far from the Russian capital.”
She determined the arson attack had a “terrorist connection” regardless of whether the individuals responsible were aware of it. The Wagner group is proscribed by the British authorities as a terrorist group.
