Six Britons working on behalf of Russia’s Wagner group have been handed jail terms for setting fire to a London-based storage unit that was storing relief supplies destined for Ukraine.
Sentencing and Roles
While delivering the sentences, the presiding judge at the central criminal court remarked that they had planned a “series of terrorist and sabotage acts” in the interests of the Russian state.
Dylan Earl received a 17-year jail term with an additional six years on extended licence due to his “leading role”. Jake Reeves, a resident of Croydon, South London, was given 12 years in jail with an additional year on supervised release. Their admitted crimes made them the first individuals to be convicted under the 2023 National Security Act.
Jakeem Rose, aged 23, also a Croydon resident, was jailed for eight years and 10 months. Nii Mensah, a Thornton Heath, South London local, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment and Ugnius Asmena, who was without a fixed address, was handed seven years in prison. The trio were each convicted of serious fire-setting and received a additional year on extended licence by the judge.
Ashton Evans, a 20-year-old drug dealer from Newport in Gwent, was jailed for nine years with an extra year on supervised release after being found guilty of withholding details regarding terrorist acts relating to a separate scheme in Mayfair.
Incident Specifics
The deliberate fire on a Leyton-based storage facility in East London put 60 firefighters at risk and caused £1m in damage 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 organising the attack for the Wagner mercenary organization, representing the Russian government.
The group targeted the storage facility because it was being used to supply humanitarian aid and StarLink satellite equipment to Ukraine.
When the same Ukrainian company was subjected to an arson attack 10 days later in the Spanish capital, detectives from the Met’s counter-terrorism command assumed control of the probe.
Evidence and Further Plans
When Earl was arrested, police analysis of his mobile phone revealed he had videos of the storage facility blaze being started and was in contact with the Wagner organization on Telegram, via an account with the handles ‘Privet Bot account’ and ‘Lucky Strike’.
Some of the communications showed that preliminary surveillance for additional operations, involving fire-related incidents at a dining establishment and wine shop in Mayfair district owned by the Russian opposition figure Evgeny Chichvarkin had already been carried out. The use of explosives to harm structures was also discussed.
Investigators found that the defendant Earl was also raising the possibility of kidnapping Chichvarkin and “sending him back to Russia to face prison”.
The drug dealer from Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire had discussed another potential attack in the Czech nation.
In a search of his home, police located a flag of Russia, over twenty thousand pounds in currency and cocaine with a street value of approximately thirty-four thousand pounds.
Driving Factors and Court Comments
The court heard he was a member of numerous channels promoting Russian propaganda and was motivated by “simple and ugly greed”.
“This case is about the attempts by the Russian government to gain pernicious global influence using online platforms to recruit disruptors vast distances from Moscow.”
She found the arson attack had a “terrorist connection” regardless of whether the perpetrators knew it. The Wagner organization is banned by the UK government as a terrorist group.
