Six Britons working on behalf of Russia’s Wagner group have been handed jail terms for setting fire to a London-based storage unit that was storing humanitarian aid destined for Ukraine.
Sentencing and Roles
While delivering the sentences, the presiding judge at the Old Bailey remarked that they had planned a “campaign of terrorism and sabotage” to benefit the Russian government.
Dylan Earl was given a 17-year prison sentence with an additional six years on extended licence due to his “leading role”. Jake Reeves, a resident of Croydon, South London, was given 12 years in jail with one 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, also a Croydon resident, was sentenced to 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. These three individuals were each found guilty of aggravated arson and given a further year on supervised release by the judge.
Ashton Evans drug dealer from Newport in Gwent, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment with an extra year on extended licence after being convicted of withholding details regarding acts of terrorism relating to a separate scheme in the Mayfair area.
Details of the Attack
The deliberate fire on a Leyton-based storage facility in East London put 60 firefighters at risk and caused £1m in damage in March of the previous year.
The court heard that Earl, 21 and Reeves, 24 remained in their residences while organising the attack for the Wagner group, acting on behalf of the Russian Federation.
The individuals involved targeted the storage facility because it was being used to supply emergency relief and satellite communication gear to Ukraine.
When the same Ukrainian company was hit by an intentional fire ten days afterward in Madrid, investigators from the Metropolitan Police's anti-terror unit took over the probe.
Evidence and Further Plans
When Earl was taken into custody, law enforcement examination of his cellphone revealed he had videos of the warehouse fire being started and was in communication with the Wagner organization on the Telegram messaging app, via an account with the usernames ‘Privet Bot account’ and ‘Lucky Strike alias’.
Some of the messages indicated that preliminary surveillance for additional operations, involving fire-related incidents at a dining establishment and wine shop in Mayfair owned by the Russian dissident 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 in Leicestershire had discussed another potential attack in the Czech Republic.
In a residence inspection, police located a Russian flag, more than £20,000 in cash and cocaine hydrochloride with a street value of approximately thirty-four thousand pounds.
Motivations and Judicial Remarks
The proceedings revealed he was a member of numerous channels promoting Russian propaganda and was driven by “plain and severe avarice”.
“This legal matter concerns the efforts of the Russian Federation to gain pernicious global influence using social media to enlist saboteurs far from the Russian capital.”
She determined the fire incident had a “terrorist connection” irrespective of if the perpetrators were aware of it. The Wagner group is banned by the British authorities as a terrorist organisation.
