Six Britons acting for 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.
Court Rulings and Involvement
Sentencing the men, the presiding 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 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 given 12 years in jail with an additional year on extended licence. The offences they admitted made them the initial persons to be found guilty under the 2023 National Security Act.
Jakeem Rose, aged 23, also a Croydon resident, was jailed for a term of eight years and ten months. Nii Mensah, 23, from Thornton Heath, south London, was given nine years imprisonment and Ugnius Asmena, 21, who was homeless, was given seven years. The trio were each convicted of aggravated arson and received a further year on extended licence by the court.
Ashton Evans drug dealer hailing from Newport, Gwent, was jailed for nine years imprisonment plus a further year on supervised release after being found guilty of failing to disclose information about acts of terrorism relating to another plot in Mayfair.
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 last year.
The proceedings revealed that Earl, 21 and the 24-year-old Reeves remained in their residences while coordinating the incident for the Wagner mercenary organization, acting on behalf of the Russian government.
The group selected the storage facility 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 revealed he had recordings of the warehouse fire being initiated and was in communication with the Wagner group on the Telegram messaging app, via an account with the handles ‘Privet Bot account’ and ‘Lucky Strike alias’.
Some of the communications indicated that reconnaissance for additional operations, involving arson attacks at a dining establishment and wine shop in Mayfair owned by the Russian dissident Evgeny Chichvarkin had already been carried out. The employment of explosive devices to harm structures was also discussed.
Investigators found that Earl was also raising the potential abduction of the dissident Chichvarkin and “sending him back to Russia to confront imprisonment”.
The individual involved in narcotics from Elmesthorpe in Leicestershire had talked about another potential attack in the Czech Republic.
In a search of his home, police located a flag of Russia, over twenty thousand pounds in currency and cocaine hydrochloride with a market value of approximately thirty-four thousand pounds.
Motivations and Judicial Remarks
The proceedings revealed he was a member of numerous pro-Russian propaganda channels and was motivated by “simple and ugly greed”.
“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 fire incident had a “link to terrorism” regardless of whether the perpetrators knew it. The Wagner group is banned by the UK government as a terrorist group.
