Six Britons working on behalf of Russia’s Wagner group have been handed jail terms for setting fire to a London-based storage unit that was storing humanitarian aid intended for Ukraine.
Sentencing and Roles
Sentencing the men, the judge at the central criminal court remarked that they had planned a “series of terrorist and sabotage acts” in the interests of the Russian government.
Dylan Earl received a seventeen-year prison sentence with an additional six years on extended licence due to his “primary involvement”. Another defendant, Jake Reeves, a resident of Croydon, South London, was given 12 years in prison with one year on extended licence. Their admitted crimes made them the first individuals to be found guilty under the National Security Act 2023.
Jakeem Rose, also a Croydon resident, was jailed for eight years and 10 months. Nii Mensah, from Thornton Heath, south London, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment and Ugnius Asmena, 21, who was homeless, was handed seven years in prison. The trio were each convicted of aggravated arson and received a further year on extended licence by the court.
Ashton Evans, a 20-year-old drug dealer hailing from Newport, Gwent, was jailed for nine years imprisonment 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.
Incident Specifics
The arson attack on a warehouse in Leyton, east London endangered sixty fire service personnel and resulted in £1m in damage in March last year.
The proceedings revealed that the 21-year-old Earl and Reeves, 24 remained in their residences while coordinating the incident for the Wagner mercenary organization, acting on behalf of the Russian government.
The group targeted the warehouse because it was being used to supply humanitarian aid and satellite communication gear to Ukraine.
When the same Ukrainian company was hit by an arson attack 10 days later in the Spanish capital, detectives from the Met’s counter-terrorism command took over the probe.
Evidence and Further Plans
When Earl was arrested, law enforcement examination of his cellphone uncovered he had recordings of the warehouse fire being initiated and was in contact with the Wagner organization on Telegram, via an account with the usernames ‘Privet Bot account’ and ‘Lucky Strike’.
Some of the messages indicated that preliminary surveillance for further “missions”, involving arson attacks at a dining establishment and wine store in Mayfair belonging to the Russian dissident Evgeny Chichvarkin had already taken place. The employment of explosive devices to damage buildings was also deliberated.
Detectives found that Earl was also raising the possibility of kidnapping Chichvarkin and “sending him back to Russia to face prison”.
The drug dealer from Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire had discussed another potential attack in the Czech Republic.
In a residence inspection, law enforcement found a flag of Russia, more than £20,000 in cash and cocaine hydrochloride with a market value of approximately thirty-four thousand pounds.
Driving Factors and Court Comments
The court heard he was a participant in numerous pro-Russian propaganda channels and was driven by “plain and severe avarice”.
“This legal matter concerns the efforts of the Russian Federation to acquire harmful worldwide sway using online platforms 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 banned by the British authorities as a terrorist group.
