Six Britons working on behalf of Russia’s Wagner group have been sentenced to prison for setting fire to a London-based storage unit that was storing relief supplies destined for Ukraine.
Sentencing and Roles
Sentencing the men, the presiding judge at the central criminal court stated that they had planned a “campaign of terrorism and sabotage” in the interests of the Russian state.
The individual named Dylan Earl was given a seventeen-year prison sentence with an additional six years on extended licence due to his “primary involvement”. Jake Reeves, a resident of Croydon, South London, was given twelve years in prison with an additional year on extended licence. Their admitted crimes 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, from Thornton Heath, south London, was given nine years imprisonment and Ugnius Asmena, 21, who was homeless, was handed seven years in prison. These three individuals were each convicted of serious fire-setting and received a additional year on supervised release by the judge.
Ashton Evans drug dealer from Newport in Gwent, was jailed for nine years imprisonment with an extra 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 endangered sixty fire service personnel and caused £1m in damage in March of the previous year.
The court heard 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 Federation.
The group selected the storage facility because it was being used to supply humanitarian aid and StarLink satellite equipment to Ukraine.
When the same Ukrainian company was subjected to an arson attack 10 days later in Madrid, investigators from the Metropolitan Police's anti-terror unit assumed control of the probe.
Evidence and Further Plans
When Earl was taken into custody, police analysis of his mobile phone uncovered he had videos of the warehouse fire being initiated and was in communication with the Wagner group on the Telegram messaging app, via an account with the usernames ‘Privet Bot’ and ‘Lucky Strike’.
Some of the messages indicated that preliminary surveillance for additional operations, involving fire-related incidents 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 damage buildings was also discussed.
Detectives found that Earl was also raising the possibility of kidnapping the dissident Chichvarkin and “exiling 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, law enforcement located a flag of Russia, more than £20,000 in cash and cocaine with a street value of about £34,000.
Driving Factors and Court Comments
The court heard he was a member of multiple pro-Russian propaganda channels and was driven by “plain and severe avarice”.
“This legal matter concerns the efforts of the Russian Federation to acquire harmful worldwide sway using online platforms to recruit disruptors far from the Russian capital.”
She determined the arson attack had a “terrorist connection” regardless of whether the perpetrators knew it. The Wagner organization is banned by the UK government as a terrorist group.
