A group of six individuals from Britain working on behalf of Russia’s Wagner group have been sentenced to prison for igniting a London-based storage unit that was storing humanitarian aid destined for Ukraine.
Sentencing and Roles
Sentencing the men, the judge at the Old Bailey stated that they had planned a “series of terrorist and sabotage acts” in the interests of the Russian government.
The individual named Dylan Earl received a seventeen-year jail term with an extra six-year period on extended licence due to his “leading role”. Another defendant, Jake Reeves, a resident of Croydon, South London, was sentenced to twelve years in prison with one year on extended licence. The offences they admitted made them the first individuals to be convicted under the 2023 National Security Act.
Jakeem Rose, also from Croydon, was sentenced to a term of eight years and ten months. Nii Mensah, 23, a Thornton Heath, South London local, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment and Ugnius Asmena, who was homeless, was handed seven years. These three individuals were each found guilty of aggravated arson and given a additional year on supervised release by the court.
Ashton Evans drug dealer hailing from Newport, Gwent, was jailed for nine years imprisonment plus a further year on extended licence after being found guilty of withholding details regarding terrorist acts connected to another plot in the Mayfair area.
Details of the Attack
The arson attack on a Leyton-based storage facility in East London put 60 firefighters at risk and caused £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 group, acting on behalf of the Russian government.
The group selected 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 ten days afterward in Madrid, investigators from the Metropolitan Police's anti-terror unit took over the probe.
Evidence and Further Plans
When Earl was taken into custody, police analysis of his mobile phone uncovered he had recordings of the warehouse fire being started and was in contact with the Wagner group on the Telegram messaging app, via an account with the usernames ‘Privet Bot account’ and ‘Lucky Strike’.
Some of the messages showed that reconnaissance for additional operations, involving arson attacks at a dining establishment and wine store in Mayfair owned by the Russian opposition figure Evgeny Chichvarkin had already been carried out. The use of explosives to harm structures was also deliberated.
Investigators discovered that Earl was also considering the potential abduction of the dissident Chichvarkin and “exiling him back to Russia to face prison”.
The individual involved in narcotics from Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire had discussed an additional planned incident in the Czech nation.
In a search of his home, law enforcement found a flag of Russia, more than £20,000 in cash 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 channels promoting Russian propaganda and was driven by “simple and ugly greed”.
“This case is about the attempts by the Russian government to acquire harmful worldwide sway using social media to enlist saboteurs far from the Russian capital.”
She found the fire incident had a “terrorist connection” regardless of whether the perpetrators were aware of it. The Wagner group is proscribed by the UK government as a terrorist group.
