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Six Britons acting for the Wagner mercenary group linked to Russia have been sentenced to prison for igniting a located in London warehouse that was holding relief supplies destined for Ukraine.

Sentencing and Roles

Sentencing the men, the presiding judge at the central criminal court stated that they had planned a “campaign of terrorism and sabotage” to benefit the Russian government.

The individual named Dylan Earl received a 17-year jail term with an additional six years on extended licence due to his “primary involvement”. Another defendant, Jake Reeves, a resident of Croydon, South London, was sentenced to 12 years in prison with an additional year on extended licence. Their admitted crimes resulted in them being the first individuals to be found guilty under the National Security Act 2023.

Jakeem Rose, aged 23, also a Croydon resident, was jailed for a term of eight years and ten months. Nii Mensah, a Thornton Heath, South London local, was sentenced to nine years and Ugnius Asmena, who was homeless, was given seven years in prison. These three individuals were each convicted of aggravated arson and given a additional year on supervised release by the judge.

Ashton Evans, a 20-year-old drug dealer from Newport in Gwent, was jailed for nine years imprisonment plus a further year on extended licence after being found guilty of withholding information about acts of terrorism connected to a separate scheme in the Mayfair area.

Details of the Attack

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 Earl, 21 and the 24-year-old Reeves did not leave their bedrooms while coordinating the incident for the Wagner group, acting on behalf of the Russian Federation.

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 intentional fire ten days afterward in the Spanish capital, investigators from the Metropolitan Police's anti-terror unit assumed control of the investigation.

Evidence and Further Plans

When Earl was taken into custody, police analysis of his mobile phone uncovered he had videos of the warehouse fire being started and was in contact with the Wagner group on Telegram, via an account with the handles ‘Privet Bot’ and ‘Lucky Strike alias’.

Some of the messages indicated that reconnaissance for further “missions”, involving arson attacks at a dining establishment and wine shop in Mayfair district belonging to the Russian dissident Evgeny Chichvarkin had already been carried out. The employment of explosive devices to damage buildings was also discussed.

Detectives discovered that the defendant Earl was also considering the possibility of kidnapping Chichvarkin and “exiling 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 search of his home, law enforcement located a Russian flag, over twenty thousand pounds in currency and cocaine with a market value of approximately thirty-four thousand pounds.

Motivations and Judicial Remarks

The court heard he was a participant in numerous channels promoting Russian propaganda and was motivated by “plain and severe avarice”.

“This case is about the attempts by the Russian government to acquire harmful worldwide sway using online platforms to recruit disruptors vast distances from Moscow.”

She determined the arson attack had a “link to terrorism” regardless of whether the perpetrators knew it. The Wagner group is banned by the British authorities as a terrorist group.