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Six Britons acting for the Wagner mercenary group linked to Russia have been sentenced to prison for setting fire to a London-based storage unit that was storing relief supplies destined for Ukraine.

Sentencing and Roles

While delivering the sentences, the judge at the central criminal court remarked that they had planned a “campaign of terrorism and sabotage” in the interests of the Russian state.

The individual named 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 jail with one year on extended licence. The offences they admitted made them the first individuals to be convicted under the National Security Act 2023.

Jakeem Rose, also a Croydon resident, was sentenced to a term of eight years and ten months. Nii Mensah, 23, from Thornton Heath, south London, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment and Ugnius Asmena, who was homeless, was handed seven years. The trio were each convicted of aggravated arson and received a additional year on extended licence by the judge.

Ashton Evans, a 20-year-old drug dealer from Newport in Gwent, was jailed for nine years with an extra year on supervised release after being convicted of failing to disclose details regarding acts of terrorism connected to a separate scheme in the Mayfair area.

Details of the Attack

The arson attack 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 of the previous year.

The court heard that the 21-year-old Earl and the 24-year-old Reeves remained in their residences while coordinating the incident for the Wagner mercenary organization, representing the Russian government.

The individuals involved selected the storage facility because it was being used to supply emergency relief and StarLink satellite equipment to Ukraine.

When the identical Ukrainian firm was hit by an intentional fire ten days afterward in Madrid, detectives from the Met’s counter-terrorism command took over the probe.

Evidence and Further Plans

When Earl was arrested, police analysis of his mobile phone uncovered he had videos of the warehouse fire being started and was in contact with the Wagner organization on Telegram, via an account with the handles ‘Privet Bot account’ and ‘Lucky Strike’.

Some of the communications showed that preliminary surveillance for additional operations, involving arson attacks at a dining establishment and wine shop in Mayfair owned by the Russian opposition figure Evgeny Chichvarkin had already been carried out. The employment of explosive devices to damage buildings was also discussed.

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

The individual involved in narcotics from Elmesthorpe in Leicestershire had talked about another potential attack in the Czech Republic.

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

Motivations and Judicial Remarks

The court heard he was a member of numerous pro-Russian propaganda channels and was driven by “simple and ugly greed”.

“This case is about the attempts by the Russian government to acquire harmful worldwide sway using online platforms to enlist saboteurs far from the Russian capital.”

She found the arson attack had a “terrorist connection” irrespective of if the perpetrators knew it. The Wagner organization is banned by the UK government as a terrorist group.