Six Britons working on behalf of the Wagner mercenary group linked to Russia have been sentenced to prison for igniting a London-based storage unit that was storing humanitarian aid destined for Ukraine.
Sentencing and Roles
While delivering the sentences, the presiding judge at the Old Bailey remarked that they had planned a “series of terrorist and sabotage acts” in the interests of the Russian state.
Dylan Earl received a 17-year jail term with an extra six-year period on supervised release due to his “primary involvement”. Another defendant, Jake Reeves, a resident of Croydon, South London, was sentenced to 12 years in jail with an additional year on extended licence. The offences they admitted made them the initial persons to be convicted under the 2023 National Security Act.
Jakeem Rose, aged 23, also from Croydon, was jailed for eight years and 10 months. Nii Mensah, 23, a Thornton Heath, South London local, was given nine years imprisonment and Ugnius Asmena, 21, who was without a fixed address, was given seven years. These three individuals were each found guilty of aggravated arson and given a further year on supervised release by the judge.
Ashton Evans drug dealer hailing from Newport, Gwent, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment plus a further year on supervised release after being found guilty of failing to disclose details regarding acts of terrorism relating to a separate scheme 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 resulted in £1m in damage in March of the previous 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, representing the Russian Federation.
The group targeted the warehouse because it was being utilized for providing humanitarian aid and StarLink satellite equipment to Ukraine.
When the same Ukrainian company was subjected to an arson attack ten days afterward in Madrid, detectives from the Met’s counter-terrorism command assumed control of 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 initiated and was in contact with the Wagner organization on Telegram, via an account with the usernames ‘Privet Bot’ and ‘Lucky Strike’.
Some of the communications indicated that reconnaissance for additional operations, involving arson attacks at a restaurant and wine shop in Mayfair belonging to the Russian dissident Evgeny Chichvarkin had already been carried out. The use of explosives to damage buildings was also deliberated.
Detectives discovered that Earl was also considering the possibility of kidnapping Chichvarkin and “sending him back to Russia to face prison”.
The individual involved in narcotics from Elmesthorpe in Leicestershire had discussed another potential attack in the Czech Republic.
In a search of his home, police found a Russian flag, over twenty thousand pounds in currency and cocaine with a market value of about £34,000.
Motivations and Judicial Remarks
The proceedings revealed he was a member of numerous 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 online platforms to recruit disruptors vast distances from Moscow.”
She found the arson attack had a “link to terrorism” irrespective of if the perpetrators knew it. The Wagner group is banned by the British authorities as a terrorist organisation.
