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A group of six individuals from Britain acting for Russia’s Wagner group have been handed jail terms for igniting a London-based warehouse that was holding relief supplies intended for Ukraine.

Sentencing and Roles

Sentencing the men, the presiding judge at the Old Bailey remarked that they had planned a “campaign of terrorism and sabotage” in the interests of the Russian government.

Dylan Earl received a 17-year prison sentence with an additional six years on extended licence due to his “leading role”. Another defendant, Jake Reeves, from Croydon in south London, was given twelve years in prison with an additional year on extended licence. Their admitted crimes made them the first individuals to be found guilty under the National Security Act 2023.

Jakeem Rose, aged 23, also from Croydon, 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 handed seven years in prison. The trio were each found guilty of serious fire-setting and given a further year on extended licence by the court.

Ashton Evans individual involved in drug trafficking hailing from Newport, Gwent, was jailed for nine years with an extra year on supervised release after being found guilty of failing to disclose details regarding terrorist acts relating to a separate scheme in Mayfair.

Details of the Attack

The deliberate fire on a warehouse in Leyton, east London endangered sixty fire service personnel and caused £1m in damage in March of the previous year.

The proceedings revealed that Earl, 21 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 selected 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 10 days later in the Spanish capital, detectives from the Met’s counter-terrorism command assumed control of the investigation.

Evidence and Further Plans

When Earl was taken into custody, police analysis of his cellphone revealed he had videos 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 alias’.

Some of the communications showed that preliminary surveillance for further “missions”, involving fire-related incidents at a restaurant and wine store in Mayfair district belonging to the Russian opposition figure Evgeny Chichvarkin had already taken place. The use of explosives to harm structures was also deliberated.

Investigators discovered that Earl was also considering the possibility of kidnapping Chichvarkin and “exiling him back to Russia to confront imprisonment”.

The drug dealer from Elmesthorpe in Leicestershire had discussed an additional planned incident in the Czech Republic.

In a residence inspection, law enforcement found a flag of Russia, over twenty thousand pounds in currency and cocaine with a street value of approximately thirty-four thousand pounds.

Motivations and Judicial Remarks

The proceedings revealed he was a member of multiple channels promoting Russian propaganda and was driven by “plain and severe avarice”.

“This legal matter concerns the efforts of the Russian Federation to gain pernicious global influence using social media to enlist saboteurs far from the Russian capital.”

She determined the arson attack had a “terrorist connection” regardless of whether the perpetrators were aware of it. The Wagner organization is proscribed by the UK government as a terrorist organisation.