🔗 Share this article

Six Britons working on behalf of Russia’s Wagner group have been sentenced to prison for igniting a London-based warehouse that was storing relief supplies intended for Ukraine.

Sentencing and Roles

While delivering the sentences, the presiding judge at the central criminal court stated that they had orchestrated a “series of terrorist and sabotage acts” to benefit the Russian government.

Dylan Earl received a 17-year jail term with an extra six-year period on supervised release due to his “leading role”. Another defendant, Jake Reeves, a resident of Croydon, South London, was given twelve years in prison with one year on extended licence. Their admitted crimes resulted in them being the initial persons to be found guilty under the National Security Act 2023.

Jakeem Rose, also from Croydon, was jailed for eight years and 10 months. Nii Mensah, 23, from Thornton Heath, south London, was sentenced to nine years and Ugnius Asmena, 21, who was homeless, was given seven years. These three individuals were each found guilty of aggravated arson and given a further year on extended licence by the judge.

Ashton Evans individual involved in drug trafficking from Newport in Gwent, was jailed for nine years plus a further year on extended licence after being convicted of failing to disclose details regarding acts of terrorism connected to another plot in Mayfair.

Incident Specifics

The deliberate fire on a warehouse in Leyton, east London endangered sixty fire service personnel and caused £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 emergency relief and StarLink satellite equipment to Ukraine.

When the same Ukrainian company was subjected to an intentional fire ten days afterward in Madrid, investigators from the Metropolitan Police's anti-terror unit took over the probe.

Proof and Additional Schemes

When Earl was taken into custody, police analysis of his mobile phone revealed 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’ and ‘Lucky Strike alias’.

Some of the communications indicated that preliminary surveillance for additional operations, involving arson attacks at a restaurant and wine store in Mayfair district owned by the Russian opposition figure Evgeny Chichvarkin had already been carried out. The use of explosives to damage buildings was also discussed.

Detectives discovered that the defendant Earl was also considering the potential abduction of the dissident Chichvarkin and “exiling him back to Russia to confront imprisonment”.

The drug dealer from Elmesthorpe in Leicestershire had discussed an additional planned incident in the Czech Republic.

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

Motivations and Judicial Remarks

The court heard he was a member of numerous channels promoting Russian propaganda and was motivated by “plain and severe avarice”.

“This legal matter concerns the attempts by the Russian government to acquire harmful worldwide sway using online platforms to enlist saboteurs vast distances from Moscow.”

She found the arson attack had a “terrorist connection” regardless of whether the perpetrators knew it. The Wagner organization is proscribed by the British authorities as a terrorist group.