Six Britons acting for the Wagner mercenary group linked to Russia have been sentenced to prison for igniting a located in London warehouse that was storing relief supplies destined for Ukraine.
Sentencing and Roles
While delivering the sentences, the presiding judge at the central criminal court stated that they had orchestrated a “series of terrorist and sabotage acts” to benefit the Russian government.
Dylan Earl was given a seventeen-year jail term with an extra six-year period on supervised release due to his “leading role”. Jake Reeves, from Croydon in south London, was sentenced to 12 years in prison with an additional year on supervised release. Their admitted crimes made them the first individuals to be found guilty under the 2023 National Security Act.
Jakeem Rose, also a Croydon resident, was jailed for a term of eight years and ten months. Nii Mensah, from Thornton Heath, south London, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment and Ugnius Asmena, who was homeless, was handed seven years in prison. The trio were each convicted of serious fire-setting and given a further year on extended licence by the court.
Ashton Evans, a 20-year-old drug dealer from Newport in Gwent, was sentenced to nine years with an extra year on extended licence after being convicted of withholding information about terrorist acts relating to another plot in Mayfair.
Details of the Attack
The deliberate fire on a warehouse in Leyton, east London put 60 firefighters at risk and resulted in £1m in damage in March last year.
The court heard that Earl, 21 and Reeves, 24 did not leave their bedrooms while coordinating the incident for the Wagner group, acting on behalf of the Russian government.
The group targeted the warehouse 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 10 days later in Madrid, detectives from the Met’s counter-terrorism command assumed control of the investigation.
Evidence and Further Plans
When Earl was arrested, law enforcement examination of his mobile phone revealed he had recordings of the warehouse fire being initiated and was in contact with the Wagner group on the Telegram messaging app, via an account with the handles ‘Privet Bot account’ and ‘Lucky Strike’.
Some of the messages showed 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 been carried out. The employment of explosive devices to damage buildings was also discussed.
Investigators discovered that Earl was also raising the possibility of kidnapping Chichvarkin and “sending him back to Russia to confront imprisonment”.
The drug dealer from Elmesthorpe in Leicestershire had discussed an additional planned incident in the Czech nation.
In a search of his home, police found a flag of Russia, more than £20,000 in cash and cocaine hydrochloride with a market value of about £34,000.
Driving Factors and Court Comments
The proceedings revealed he was a member of numerous pro-Russian propaganda channels and was driven by “simple and ugly greed”.
“This case is about the efforts of the Russian Federation to gain pernicious global influence using online platforms to enlist saboteurs vast distances from Moscow.”
She found the fire incident had a “link to terrorism” regardless of whether the individuals responsible knew it. The Wagner group is proscribed by the UK government as a terrorist organisation.