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Six Britons working on behalf of the Wagner mercenary group linked to Russia have been sentenced to prison for igniting a London-based storage unit that was storing humanitarian aid intended for Ukraine.

Court Rulings and Involvement

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

Dylan Earl was given a 17-year prison sentence with an extra six-year period on extended licence due to his “leading role”. Another defendant, Jake Reeves, from Croydon in south London, was sentenced to 12 years in prison with an additional year on supervised release. Their admitted crimes made them the first individuals 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, a Thornton Heath, South London local, was given nine years imprisonment and Ugnius Asmena, who was without a fixed address, was given seven years. These three individuals were each convicted of aggravated arson and received a further year on supervised release by the court.

Ashton Evans drug dealer from Newport in Gwent, was jailed for nine years plus a further year on extended licence after being found guilty of failing to disclose information about acts of terrorism connected to another plot in the Mayfair area.

Details of the Attack

The deliberate fire on a Leyton-based storage facility in 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 group, acting on behalf of the Russian government.

The individuals involved selected the storage facility because it was being used to supply humanitarian aid and StarLink satellite equipment to Ukraine.

When the identical Ukrainian firm was subjected to an arson attack 10 days later in Madrid, detectives from the Met’s counter-terrorism command took over the investigation.

Evidence and Further Plans

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

Some of the messages showed that reconnaissance for further “missions”, involving fire-related incidents at a restaurant and wine shop in Mayfair belonging to the Russian dissident Evgeny Chichvarkin had already been carried out. The use of explosives to harm structures was also discussed.

Detectives discovered that Earl was also considering the potential abduction of Chichvarkin and “exiling him back to Russia to face prison”.

The drug dealer from Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire had talked about an additional planned incident in the Czech nation.

In a residence inspection, law enforcement found a Russian flag, over twenty thousand pounds in currency and cocaine hydrochloride with a market value of about £34,000.

Driving Factors and Court Comments

The court heard he was a member of multiple pro-Russian propaganda channels and was driven by “simple and ugly greed”.

“This case is about the attempts by the Russian government to gain pernicious global influence using social media to recruit disruptors far from the Russian capital.”

She found the fire incident had a “terrorist connection” irrespective of if the perpetrators were aware of it. The Wagner group is banned by the UK government as a terrorist organisation.