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

Sentencing and Roles

Sentencing the men, the judge at the central criminal court stated that they had orchestrated a “campaign of terrorism and sabotage” in the interests of the Russian state.

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, from Croydon in south London, was given 12 years in prison with an additional year on extended licence. The offences they admitted resulted in them being the initial persons to be found guilty under the National Security Act 2023.

Jakeem Rose, aged 23, also a Croydon resident, was sentenced to eight years and 10 months. Nii Mensah, 23, from Thornton Heath, south London, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment and Ugnius Asmena, who was without a fixed address, was handed seven years. These three individuals were each convicted of aggravated arson and received a further year on supervised release by the judge.

Ashton Evans, a 20-year-old individual involved in drug trafficking hailing from Newport, Gwent, was jailed for nine years plus a further year on supervised release after being found guilty of failing to disclose information about terrorist acts relating to a separate scheme in Mayfair.

Details of the Attack

The arson attack on a warehouse in Leyton, east London endangered sixty fire service personnel and resulted in one million pounds worth of destruction in March of the previous year.

The proceedings revealed that the 21-year-old Earl and the 24-year-old Reeves remained in their residences while organising the attack for the Wagner mercenary organization, representing the Russian government.

The individuals involved selected the storage facility because it was being utilized for providing humanitarian aid and satellite communication gear to Ukraine.

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

Evidence and Further Plans

When Earl was taken into custody, police analysis of his cellphone uncovered he had videos of the warehouse fire being initiated and was in communication with the Wagner organization on the Telegram messaging app, via an account with the usernames ‘Privet Bot’ and ‘Lucky Strike’.

Some of the communications showed that preliminary surveillance for additional operations, involving fire-related incidents at a dining establishment and wine store in Mayfair belonging to the Russian dissident Evgeny Chichvarkin had already taken place. The use of explosives to damage buildings was also deliberated.

Detectives found that the defendant Earl was also raising the potential abduction of the dissident 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 Republic.

In a residence inspection, police located a flag of Russia, more than £20,000 in cash and cocaine with a street value of approximately thirty-four thousand pounds.

Driving Factors and Court Comments

The court heard he was a participant in multiple pro-Russian propaganda channels and was motivated by “simple and ugly greed”.

“This legal matter concerns the attempts by the Russian government to acquire harmful worldwide sway using online platforms to recruit disruptors far from the Russian capital.”

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