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 holding humanitarian aid intended for Ukraine.
Sentencing and Roles
Sentencing the men, the presiding judge at the Old Bailey stated that they had planned a “series of terrorist and sabotage acts” to benefit the Russian state.
Dylan Earl was given a seventeen-year jail term with an extra six-year period on extended licence due to his “primary involvement”. Another defendant, Jake Reeves, a resident of Croydon, South London, was given 12 years in jail with an additional year on supervised release. The offences they admitted made them the initial persons to be convicted under the 2023 National Security Act.
Jakeem Rose, also a Croydon resident, was jailed for eight years and 10 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 found guilty of serious fire-setting and given a further year on supervised release by the court.
Ashton Evans individual involved in drug trafficking from Newport in Gwent, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment with an extra year on extended licence after being convicted of failing to disclose information about acts of terrorism relating to another plot in the Mayfair area.
Incident Specifics
The deliberate fire on a warehouse in Leyton, east London put 60 firefighters at risk and resulted in one million pounds worth of destruction 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 utilized for providing humanitarian aid and StarLink satellite equipment to Ukraine.
When the same Ukrainian company was subjected to an intentional fire 10 days later in Madrid, investigators from the Metropolitan Police's anti-terror unit took over the probe.
Evidence and Further Plans
When Earl was arrested, law enforcement examination of his mobile phone revealed he had videos of the storage facility blaze being started and was in communication with the Wagner group on Telegram, via an user profile with the usernames ‘Privet Bot’ and ‘Lucky Strike alias’.
Some of the messages indicated that reconnaissance for further “missions”, involving fire-related incidents at a restaurant and wine shop 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.
Detectives 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, Leicestershire had talked about another potential attack in the Czech Republic.
In a residence inspection, law enforcement found a Russian flag, more than £20,000 in cash and cocaine with a street value of about £34,000.
Motivations and Judicial Remarks
The court heard he was a participant in multiple channels promoting Russian propaganda and was motivated by “plain and severe avarice”.
“This case is about the efforts of the Russian Federation to acquire harmful worldwide sway using online platforms to enlist saboteurs vast distances from Moscow.”
She determined the fire incident had a “link to terrorism” irrespective of if the individuals responsible knew it. The Wagner organization is banned by the UK government as a terrorist organisation.
