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A group of six individuals from Britain working on behalf of the Wagner mercenary group linked to Russia have been handed jail terms for setting fire to a located in London warehouse that was holding humanitarian aid intended for Ukraine.

Sentencing and Roles

While delivering the sentences, the judge at the Old Bailey remarked that they had orchestrated a “campaign of terrorism and sabotage” in the interests of the Russian government.

Dylan Earl received a seventeen-year prison sentence with an extra six-year period on extended licence due to his “primary involvement”. Another defendant, Jake Reeves, from Croydon in south London, was given 12 years in jail with one year on supervised release. Their admitted crimes made them the first individuals to be convicted under the National Security Act 2023.

Jakeem Rose, also from Croydon, was sentenced to a term of eight years and ten months. Nii Mensah, from Thornton Heath, south London, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment and Ugnius Asmena, 21, who was homeless, was handed seven years in prison. These three individuals were each convicted of serious fire-setting and received a additional year on supervised release by the court.

Ashton Evans drug dealer hailing from Newport, Gwent, was sentenced to nine years plus a further year on supervised release after being found guilty of failing to disclose information about acts of terrorism connected to a separate scheme in the Mayfair area.

Details of the Attack

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

The individuals involved targeted the warehouse because it was being utilized for providing emergency relief and StarLink satellite equipment to Ukraine.

When the same Ukrainian company was subjected to an intentional fire 10 days later in Madrid, investigators from the Metropolitan Police's anti-terror unit assumed control of the investigation.

Evidence and Further Plans

When Earl was arrested, law enforcement examination of his mobile phone uncovered he had videos of the storage facility blaze being started and was in communication with the Wagner group on the Telegram messaging app, via an account with the handles ‘Privet Bot account’ and ‘Lucky Strike’.

Some of the messages indicated that preliminary surveillance for additional operations, involving fire-related incidents at a restaurant and wine shop in Mayfair district belonging to the Russian dissident Evgeny Chichvarkin had already taken place. The use of explosives to harm structures was also deliberated.

Detectives discovered that the defendant Earl was also considering the possibility of kidnapping the dissident Chichvarkin and “exiling him back to Russia to face prison”.

The drug dealer from Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire had discussed another potential attack in the Czech Republic.

In a search of his home, law enforcement located a flag of Russia, more than £20,000 in cash and cocaine hydrochloride with a market value of about £34,000.

Driving Factors and Court Comments

The court heard he was a participant in multiple pro-Russian propaganda channels and was driven by “plain and severe avarice”.

“This legal matter concerns the efforts of the Russian Federation to acquire harmful worldwide sway using online platforms to enlist saboteurs far from the Russian capital.”

She found the fire incident had a “terrorist connection” irrespective of if the individuals responsible knew it. The Wagner organization is proscribed by the British authorities as a terrorist group.