Six Britons working on behalf of Russia’s Wagner group have been handed jail terms for igniting a London-based storage unit that was storing humanitarian aid destined for Ukraine.
Sentencing and Roles
While delivering the sentences, the judge at the central criminal court stated that they had planned a “campaign of terrorism and sabotage” to benefit the Russian state.
Dylan Earl was given a 17-year jail term with an additional six years on supervised release due to his “primary involvement”. Another defendant, Jake Reeves, from Croydon in south London, was given 12 years in jail with an additional year on supervised release. Their admitted crimes resulted in them being the first individuals to be convicted under the National Security Act 2023.
Jakeem Rose, also a Croydon resident, was jailed for eight years and 10 months. Nii Mensah, 23, from Thornton Heath, south London, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment and Ugnius Asmena, who was homeless, was handed seven years. The trio were each found guilty of serious fire-setting and received a additional year on supervised release by the court.
Ashton Evans drug dealer hailing from Newport, Gwent, was jailed for nine years with an extra year on extended licence after being found guilty of failing to disclose information about acts of terrorism relating to another plot in the Mayfair area.
Details of the Attack
The deliberate fire on a Leyton-based storage facility in East London endangered sixty fire service personnel and resulted in £1m in damage in March of the previous year.
The proceedings revealed that the 21-year-old Earl and the 24-year-old Reeves remained in their residences while coordinating the incident for the Wagner group, acting on behalf of the Russian government.
The individuals involved targeted the storage facility because it was being used to supply humanitarian aid 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.
Proof and Additional Schemes
When Earl was taken into custody, police analysis of his cellphone uncovered he had recordings of the warehouse fire being initiated and was in contact with the Wagner organization on the Telegram messaging app, via an user profile with the handles ‘Privet Bot’ and ‘Lucky Strike’.
Some of the communications indicated that reconnaissance for additional operations, involving fire-related incidents 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 discussed.
Detectives found that the defendant Earl was also considering the potential abduction of the dissident Chichvarkin and “sending him back to Russia to face prison”.
The individual involved in narcotics from Elmesthorpe in Leicestershire had talked about an additional planned incident in the Czech nation.
In a residence inspection, police located a flag of Russia, more than £20,000 in cash and cocaine with a market value of about £34,000.
Motivations and Judicial Remarks
The court heard he was a member of multiple channels promoting Russian propaganda and was driven by “plain and severe avarice”.
“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 fire incident had a “link to terrorism” regardless of whether the individuals responsible were aware of it. The Wagner group is banned by the British authorities as a terrorist group.
