Six Britons acting for the Wagner mercenary group linked to Russia have been sentenced to prison for igniting a London-based warehouse that was holding relief supplies destined for Ukraine.
Sentencing and Roles
Sentencing the men, the presiding judge at the central criminal court remarked that they had planned a “campaign of terrorism and sabotage” to benefit the Russian state.
The individual named Dylan Earl received a 17-year jail term with an additional six years on extended licence due to his “leading role”. Jake Reeves, a resident of Croydon, South London, was given 12 years in jail with one year on supervised release. Their admitted crimes made them the initial persons to be convicted under the National Security Act 2023.
Jakeem Rose, aged 23, also from Croydon, was sentenced to eight years and 10 months. Nii Mensah, from Thornton Heath, south London, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment and Ugnius Asmena, who was homeless, was given seven years. These three individuals were each convicted of serious fire-setting and given a additional year on extended licence by the court.
Ashton Evans drug dealer hailing from Newport, Gwent, was jailed for nine years plus a further 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 warehouse in Leyton, east London put 60 firefighters at risk and caused £1m in damage in March of the previous year.
The proceedings revealed that Earl, 21 and Reeves, 24 remained in their residences while organising the attack for the Wagner mercenary organization, representing the Russian Federation.
The group selected the storage facility because it was being used to supply emergency relief and StarLink satellite equipment to Ukraine.
When the same Ukrainian company was hit by an arson attack 10 days later in the Spanish capital, investigators from the Metropolitan Police's anti-terror unit took over the probe.
Proof and Additional Schemes
When Earl was taken into custody, law enforcement examination of his mobile phone revealed he had recordings of the warehouse fire being started and was in contact with the Wagner organization on Telegram, via an account with the handles ‘Privet Bot account’ and ‘Lucky Strike’.
Some of the messages indicated that preliminary surveillance for additional operations, involving arson attacks at a restaurant and wine store in Mayfair belonging to the Russian dissident Evgeny Chichvarkin had already taken place. The employment of explosive devices to harm structures was also discussed.
Investigators found that the defendant Earl was also raising the potential abduction of the dissident Chichvarkin and “sending him back to Russia to confront imprisonment”.
The drug dealer from Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire had talked about an additional planned incident in the Czech Republic.
In a search of his home, law enforcement located a flag of Russia, over twenty thousand pounds in currency and cocaine with a street value of about £34,000.
Motivations and Judicial Remarks
The court heard he was a member of multiple pro-Russian propaganda channels and was driven by “plain and severe avarice”.
“This case is about the efforts of the Russian Federation to acquire harmful worldwide sway using online platforms to enlist saboteurs vast distances from Moscow.”
She determined the fire incident had a “link to terrorism” irrespective of if the perpetrators were aware of it. The Wagner group is proscribed by the UK government as a terrorist group.
