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

Sentencing and Roles

While delivering the sentences, the presiding judge at the central criminal court stated that they had orchestrated a “campaign of terrorism and sabotage” in the interests of the Russian government.

Dylan Earl received a 17-year prison sentence with an extra six-year period on extended licence due to his “primary involvement”. Another defendant, Jake Reeves, from Croydon in south London, was given twelve years in prison with an additional year on supervised release. The offences they admitted resulted in them being the first individuals to be convicted under the National Security Act 2023.

Jakeem Rose, aged 23, also a Croydon resident, was sentenced to a term of eight years and ten months. Nii Mensah, a Thornton Heath, South London local, was given nine years and Ugnius Asmena, 21, who was homeless, was given seven years in prison. The trio were each convicted of serious fire-setting and received a additional year on supervised release by the judge.

Ashton Evans drug dealer hailing from Newport, Gwent, was jailed for nine years plus a further year on supervised release after being convicted of failing to disclose details regarding terrorist acts relating 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 resulted in one million pounds worth of destruction in March of the previous year.

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

The group selected the storage facility because it was being utilized for providing emergency relief and satellite communication gear to Ukraine.

When the identical Ukrainian firm was subjected to an intentional fire 10 days later in the Spanish capital, detectives from the Met’s counter-terrorism command took over the investigation.

Evidence and Further Plans

When Earl was taken into custody, police analysis of his cellphone uncovered he had videos of the warehouse fire being started and was in contact with the Wagner organization on the Telegram messaging app, via an user profile with the usernames ‘Privet Bot account’ and ‘Lucky Strike alias’.

Some of the messages showed that reconnaissance for additional operations, involving arson attacks at a dining establishment and wine shop in Mayfair district belonging to the Russian opposition figure Evgeny Chichvarkin had already taken place. The employment of explosive devices to damage buildings was also discussed.

Detectives discovered that the defendant Earl was also raising the possibility of kidnapping Chichvarkin and “exiling him back to Russia to face prison”.

The individual involved in narcotics from Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire had talked about another potential attack in the Czech Republic.

In a search of his home, police found a flag of Russia, more than £20,000 in cash and cocaine hydrochloride with a street value of approximately thirty-four thousand pounds.

Driving Factors and Court Comments

The court heard he was a member of numerous channels promoting Russian propaganda and was motivated by “plain and severe avarice”.

“This legal matter concerns the attempts by the Russian government to gain pernicious global influence using online platforms to enlist saboteurs vast distances from Moscow.”

She found the arson attack had a “link to terrorism” regardless of whether the perpetrators were aware of it. The Wagner group is banned by the British authorities as a terrorist group.