A group of six individuals from Britain working on behalf of Russia’s Wagner group have been handed jail terms for igniting a London-based storage unit that was holding 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 state.
Dylan Earl was given a 17-year prison sentence with an additional six years on supervised release due to his “primary involvement”. Another defendant, Jake Reeves, a resident of Croydon, South London, was sentenced to twelve years in prison with an additional year on supervised release. The offences they admitted made them the first individuals to be convicted under the 2023 National Security Act.
Jakeem Rose, also a Croydon resident, was sentenced to eight years and 10 months. Nii Mensah, 23, from Thornton Heath, south London, was given nine years imprisonment and Ugnius Asmena, 21, who was homeless, was given seven years. The trio were each convicted of serious fire-setting and given a additional year on extended licence by the court.
Ashton Evans drug dealer hailing from Newport, Gwent, was jailed for nine years with an extra year on extended licence after being found guilty of failing to disclose details regarding terrorist acts connected to another plot in Mayfair.
Details of the Attack
The arson attack on a Leyton-based storage facility in East London endangered sixty fire service personnel and resulted in £1m in damage in March last year.
The court heard that the 21-year-old Earl and Reeves, 24 did not leave their bedrooms while coordinating the incident for the Wagner group, acting on behalf of the Russian government.
The individuals involved selected the warehouse because it was being used to supply humanitarian aid and satellite communication gear to Ukraine.
When the same Ukrainian company was subjected to 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 videos of the warehouse fire being started and was in communication with the Wagner organization on Telegram, via an user profile with the usernames ‘Privet Bot’ and ‘Lucky Strike alias’.
Some of the communications showed that reconnaissance for additional operations, involving fire-related incidents at a restaurant and wine store in Mayfair belonging to the Russian dissident Evgeny Chichvarkin had already been carried out. The employment of explosive devices to harm structures was also deliberated.
Detectives found that the defendant Earl was also raising the possibility of kidnapping Chichvarkin and “sending him back to Russia to confront imprisonment”.
The individual involved in narcotics from Elmesthorpe in Leicestershire had discussed another potential attack in the Czech Republic.
In a residence inspection, police located a flag of Russia, more than £20,000 in cash and cocaine hydrochloride with a market value of about £34,000.
Motivations and Judicial Remarks
The court heard he was a member of numerous channels promoting Russian propaganda and was motivated by “plain and severe avarice”.
“This legal matter concerns the efforts of the Russian Federation to gain pernicious global influence using online platforms to recruit disruptors far from the Russian capital.”
She found the fire incident had a “terrorist connection” irrespective of if the individuals responsible were aware of it. The Wagner group is banned by the UK government as a terrorist group.
