A group of six individuals from Britain working on behalf of Russia’s Wagner group have been sentenced to prison for igniting a London-based storage unit that was storing relief supplies destined for Ukraine.
Sentencing and Roles
Sentencing the men, the presiding judge at the central criminal court remarked that they had planned a “campaign of terrorism and sabotage” to benefit the Russian government.
The individual named Dylan Earl was given a 17-year jail term with an additional six years on supervised release due to his “primary involvement”. Another defendant, Jake Reeves, a resident of Croydon, South London, was given twelve years in prison with an additional year on extended licence. The offences they admitted made them the first individuals to be found guilty under the 2023 National Security Act.
Jakeem Rose, also from Croydon, was jailed for a term of eight years and ten 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 found guilty of serious fire-setting and received a further year on extended licence by the judge.
Ashton Evans drug dealer from Newport in Gwent, was sentenced to nine years plus a further year on supervised release after being found guilty of failing to disclose information about acts of terrorism relating to a separate scheme in the Mayfair area.
Incident Specifics
The arson attack on a warehouse in Leyton, east London put 60 firefighters at risk and resulted in one million pounds worth of destruction in March last year.
The court heard that the 21-year-old Earl and the 24-year-old Reeves remained in their residences while organising the attack for the Wagner group, acting on behalf of the Russian government.
The group selected the storage facility because it was being used to supply emergency relief and StarLink satellite equipment to Ukraine.
When the identical Ukrainian firm was hit by an intentional fire 10 days later in Madrid, detectives from the Met’s counter-terrorism command assumed control of the probe.
Proof and Additional Schemes
When Earl was arrested, police analysis of his cellphone revealed he had recordings of the warehouse fire 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 additional operations, involving fire-related incidents at a restaurant and wine shop in Mayfair district owned by the Russian dissident Evgeny Chichvarkin had already taken place. The employment of explosive devices to damage buildings was also discussed.
Investigators found that Earl was also considering the possibility of kidnapping the dissident Chichvarkin and “exiling him back to Russia to face prison”.
The drug dealer from Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire had talked about another potential attack in the Czech Republic.
In a residence inspection, police found 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 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 acquire harmful worldwide sway using online platforms to enlist saboteurs vast distances from Moscow.”
She determined the arson attack had a “terrorist connection” irrespective of if the perpetrators knew it. The Wagner group is banned by the UK government as a terrorist organisation.
