🔗 Share this article

A group of six individuals from Britain working on behalf of Russia’s Wagner group have been handed jail terms 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 Old Bailey stated that they had orchestrated a “series of terrorist and sabotage acts” in the interests of the Russian state.

Dylan Earl received a 17-year prison sentence 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 prison with an additional year on extended licence. Their admitted crimes resulted in them being 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, 23, from Thornton Heath, south London, was given nine years and Ugnius Asmena, 21, who was homeless, was given seven years. The trio were each convicted of aggravated arson and given a further year on extended licence by the judge.

Ashton Evans drug dealer from Newport in Gwent, was sentenced to nine years with an extra year on extended licence after being convicted of failing to disclose details regarding acts of terrorism connected to a separate scheme in Mayfair.

Details of the Attack

The deliberate fire on a Leyton-based storage facility in East London endangered sixty fire service personnel and resulted in one million pounds worth of destruction in March last year.

The proceedings revealed that Earl, 21 and the 24-year-old Reeves remained in their residences while coordinating the incident for the Wagner mercenary organization, acting on behalf of the Russian government.

The individuals involved selected the warehouse because it was being used to supply emergency relief and satellite communication gear to Ukraine.

When the same Ukrainian company was subjected to an intentional fire ten days afterward in Madrid, detectives from the Met’s counter-terrorism command took over the investigation.

Evidence and Further Plans

When Earl was arrested, law enforcement examination of his cellphone uncovered he had videos of the warehouse fire being started and was in communication with the Wagner organization on the Telegram messaging app, via an user profile with the usernames ‘Privet Bot’ and ‘Lucky Strike alias’.

Some of the messages showed that reconnaissance for additional operations, involving arson attacks at a restaurant and wine shop in Mayfair district owned by the Russian dissident Evgeny Chichvarkin had already been carried out. The use of explosives to harm structures was also deliberated.

Investigators discovered that the defendant Earl was also considering the potential abduction of 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 Russian flag, more than £20,000 in cash and cocaine with a street value of about £34,000.

Driving Factors and Court Comments

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

“This case is about the efforts of the Russian Federation to acquire harmful worldwide sway using social media to enlist saboteurs vast distances from Moscow.”

She determined the fire incident had a “terrorist connection” irrespective of if the individuals responsible were aware of it. The Wagner group is banned by the British authorities as a terrorist organisation.