Six Britons acting for the Wagner mercenary group linked to Russia have been sentenced to prison for setting fire to a London-based storage unit that was storing relief supplies destined for Ukraine.
Sentencing and Roles
Sentencing the men, the presiding judge at the Old Bailey remarked that they had planned a “series of terrorist and sabotage acts” in the interests of the Russian government.
Dylan Earl was given a 17-year prison sentence with an additional six years on supervised release due to his “leading role”. Jake Reeves, a resident of Croydon, South London, was sentenced to 12 years in prison with an additional year on supervised release. Their admitted crimes resulted in them being the initial persons to be found guilty under the 2023 National Security Act.
Jakeem Rose, also a Croydon resident, was jailed for eight years and 10 months. Nii Mensah, 23, a Thornton Heath, South London local, was given nine years imprisonment and Ugnius Asmena, who was homeless, was given seven years in prison. The trio were each found guilty of aggravated arson and given a further year on extended licence by the court.
Ashton Evans, a 20-year-old drug dealer hailing from Newport, Gwent, was jailed for nine years imprisonment plus a further year on extended licence after being convicted of failing to disclose information about acts of terrorism connected to a separate scheme in Mayfair.
Incident Specifics
The arson attack on a Leyton-based storage facility in 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 coordinating the incident for the Wagner mercenary organization, representing the Russian government.
The group targeted 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 ten days afterward in the Spanish capital, detectives from the Met’s counter-terrorism command assumed control of the probe.
Proof and Additional Schemes
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 organization on Telegram, via an account with the usernames ‘Privet Bot’ and ‘Lucky Strike alias’.
Some of the communications indicated that preliminary surveillance for further “missions”, involving fire-related incidents at a dining establishment and wine store in Mayfair 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 possibility of kidnapping the dissident Chichvarkin and “sending him back to Russia to face prison”.
The drug dealer from Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire had talked about an additional planned incident in the Czech Republic.
In a search of his home, police found a flag of Russia, over twenty thousand pounds in currency and cocaine with a street value of about £34,000.
Driving Factors and Court Comments
The court heard he was a member of multiple channels promoting Russian propaganda and was driven by “plain and severe avarice”.
“This case is about the attempts by the Russian government to gain pernicious global influence using online platforms to recruit disruptors far from the Russian capital.”
She determined the fire incident had a “link to terrorism” irrespective of if the individuals responsible were aware of it. The Wagner group is banned by the British authorities as a terrorist organisation.
