Six Britons acting for Russia’s Wagner group have been sentenced to prison for setting fire to a London-based warehouse that was holding humanitarian aid intended for Ukraine.
Sentencing and Roles
Sentencing the men, the presiding judge at the central criminal court remarked that they had planned a “series of terrorist and sabotage acts” in the interests of the Russian state.
The individual named Dylan Earl was given a 17-year jail term with an additional six years on extended licence due to his “primary involvement”. Another defendant, Jake Reeves, a resident of Croydon, South London, was given twelve years in jail with an additional year on supervised release. Their admitted crimes resulted in them being the first individuals to be found guilty under the 2023 National Security Act.
Jakeem Rose, also from Croydon, was jailed for eight years and 10 months. Nii Mensah, from Thornton Heath, south London, was given nine years and Ugnius Asmena, 21, who was homeless, was handed seven years in prison. These three individuals were each convicted of aggravated arson and received a additional year on supervised release by the court.
Ashton Evans individual involved in drug trafficking from Newport in Gwent, was jailed for nine years with an extra year on extended licence after being found guilty of withholding information about 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 endangered sixty fire service personnel and resulted in one million pounds worth of destruction in March last year.
The court heard that the 21-year-old Earl and Reeves, 24 remained in their residences while coordinating the incident for the Wagner group, representing the Russian government.
The individuals involved selected the storage facility because it was being utilized for providing emergency relief and StarLink satellite equipment to Ukraine.
When the same Ukrainian company was hit by an intentional fire 10 days later in Madrid, investigators from the Metropolitan Police's anti-terror unit took over the investigation.
Proof and Additional Schemes
When Earl was arrested, police analysis of his mobile phone revealed he had videos of the warehouse fire being initiated and was in communication with the Wagner organization on Telegram, via an user profile with the usernames ‘Privet Bot account’ and ‘Lucky Strike’.
Some of the messages showed that reconnaissance for additional operations, involving fire-related incidents at a dining establishment and wine store in Mayfair district belonging to the Russian opposition figure Evgeny Chichvarkin had already been carried out. The use of explosives to harm structures was also discussed.
Investigators found that the defendant Earl was also considering the potential abduction of the dissident Chichvarkin and “sending him back to Russia to face prison”.
The individual involved in narcotics from Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire had talked about an additional planned incident in the Czech Republic.
In a residence inspection, 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.
Driving Factors and Court Comments
The proceedings revealed he was a participant in numerous channels promoting Russian propaganda and was motivated by “plain and severe avarice”.
“This case is about the efforts of the Russian Federation to gain pernicious global influence using social media to recruit disruptors far from the Russian capital.”
She found the arson attack had a “link to terrorism” irrespective of if the individuals responsible were aware of it. The Wagner organization is banned by the British authorities as a terrorist organisation.
