A group of six individuals from Britain acting for the Wagner mercenary group linked to Russia have been sentenced to prison for igniting a London-based storage unit that was storing relief supplies destined for Ukraine.
Sentencing and Roles
While delivering the sentences, the presiding judge at the Old Bailey stated that they had planned a “series of terrorist and sabotage acts” in the interests of the Russian government.
Dylan Earl received a 17-year prison sentence with an extra six-year period on supervised release due to his “primary involvement”. 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 resulted in them being the initial persons to be convicted under the National Security Act 2023.
Jakeem Rose, also from Croydon, was jailed for eight years and 10 months. Nii Mensah, 23, a Thornton Heath, South London local, was given nine years and Ugnius Asmena, who was homeless, was handed seven years in prison. The trio were each convicted of serious fire-setting and received a further year on extended licence by the judge.
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 withholding information about acts of terrorism connected to another plot in the Mayfair area.
Incident Specifics
The deliberate fire on a Leyton-based storage facility in East London endangered sixty fire service personnel and resulted in £1m in damage in March last year.
The proceedings revealed that Earl, 21 and Reeves, 24 did not leave their bedrooms while coordinating the incident for the Wagner mercenary organization, acting on behalf of the Russian Federation.
The group selected the warehouse because it was being used to supply humanitarian aid and satellite communication gear to Ukraine.
When the same Ukrainian company was subjected to an intentional fire 10 days later in Madrid, detectives from the Met’s counter-terrorism command assumed control of the investigation.
Evidence and Further Plans
When Earl was arrested, police analysis of his cellphone 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 communications showed that preliminary surveillance for further “missions”, involving fire-related incidents at a dining establishment and wine store in Mayfair owned by the Russian opposition figure Evgeny Chichvarkin had already taken place. The use of explosives to damage buildings was also discussed.
Investigators found that the defendant Earl was also raising the potential abduction of Chichvarkin and “sending him back to Russia to face prison”.
The drug dealer from Elmesthorpe in Leicestershire had talked about an additional planned incident in the Czech Republic.
In a residence inspection, police 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 proceedings revealed he was a participant in multiple channels promoting Russian propaganda and was driven by “simple and ugly greed”.
“This case is about the attempts by the Russian government to gain pernicious global influence using online platforms to recruit disruptors vast distances from Moscow.”
She determined the fire incident had a “link to terrorism” regardless of whether the individuals responsible knew it. The Wagner group is proscribed by the UK government as a terrorist group.
