🔗 Share this article

Six Britons acting for the Wagner mercenary group linked to Russia have been handed jail terms for setting fire to a located in London storage unit that was holding relief supplies destined for Ukraine.

Court Rulings and Involvement

While delivering the sentences, the judge at the central criminal court remarked that they had planned a “campaign of terrorism and sabotage” to benefit the Russian government.

The individual named Dylan Earl was given a 17-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 sentenced to twelve years in prison with an additional year on extended licence. Their admitted crimes resulted in them being the first individuals to be convicted under the National Security Act 2023.

Jakeem Rose, aged 23, also from Croydon, was sentenced to a term of eight years and ten months. Nii Mensah, 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 convicted of serious fire-setting and received a additional year on supervised release by the judge.

Ashton Evans, a 20-year-old drug dealer from Newport in Gwent, was sentenced to nine years plus a further year on extended licence after being convicted of withholding information about terrorist acts relating to a separate scheme in the Mayfair area.

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 last year.

The proceedings revealed that Earl, 21 and Reeves, 24 did not leave their bedrooms while organising the attack for the Wagner group, representing the Russian Federation.

The individuals involved targeted the storage facility because it was being used to supply emergency relief and StarLink satellite equipment to Ukraine.

When the identical Ukrainian firm was hit by an arson attack ten days afterward in Madrid, investigators from the Metropolitan Police's anti-terror unit took over the investigation.

Evidence and Further Plans

When Earl was arrested, police analysis of his cellphone revealed he had recordings of the storage facility blaze being started and was in contact with the Wagner group on Telegram, via an user profile with the usernames ‘Privet Bot’ and ‘Lucky Strike’.

Some of the messages indicated that preliminary surveillance for further “missions”, involving arson attacks at a restaurant and wine shop in Mayfair district owned by the Russian opposition figure Evgeny Chichvarkin had already taken place. The use of explosives to damage buildings was also deliberated.

Investigators found that the defendant Earl was also considering the potential abduction of Chichvarkin and “exiling him back to Russia to confront imprisonment”.

The drug dealer from Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire had discussed an additional planned incident in the Czech nation.

In a search of his home, police found a Russian flag, over twenty thousand pounds in currency and cocaine hydrochloride with a market value of about £34,000.

Motivations and Judicial Remarks

The proceedings revealed he was a member of multiple pro-Russian propaganda channels and was motivated by “simple and ugly greed”.

“This legal matter concerns the efforts of the Russian Federation to gain pernicious global influence using online platforms to recruit disruptors vast distances from Moscow.”

She found 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 UK government as a terrorist group.