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Six Britons working on behalf of Russia’s Wagner group have been handed jail terms for setting fire to a located in London storage unit that was holding humanitarian aid destined for Ukraine.

Sentencing and Roles

Sentencing the men, the judge at the Old Bailey remarked that they had planned a “campaign of terrorism and sabotage” in the interests of the Russian state.

The individual named Dylan Earl was given a 17-year jail term with an additional six years on extended licence due to his “primary involvement”. Jake Reeves, from Croydon in south London, was given 12 years in jail with an additional year on supervised release. The offences they admitted resulted in them being the first individuals to be convicted under the National Security Act 2023.

Jakeem Rose, aged 23, also from Croydon, was jailed for eight years and 10 months. Nii Mensah, 23, from Thornton Heath, south London, was given nine years imprisonment and Ugnius Asmena, 21, who was homeless, was handed seven years. The trio were each convicted of serious fire-setting and given a additional year on extended licence by the court.

Ashton Evans drug dealer hailing from Newport, Gwent, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment with an extra year on extended licence after being found guilty of failing to disclose details regarding terrorist acts connected to another plot in the Mayfair area.

Details of the Attack

The arson attack 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 the 21-year-old Earl and Reeves, 24 remained in their residences while coordinating the incident for the Wagner group, representing the Russian government.

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

When the identical Ukrainian firm was subjected to an arson attack 10 days later in Madrid, investigators from the Metropolitan Police's anti-terror unit took over the probe.

Evidence and Further Plans

When Earl was arrested, police analysis of his mobile phone uncovered he had recordings of the warehouse fire being initiated and was in communication with the Wagner group on the Telegram messaging app, via an user profile with the handles ‘Privet Bot’ and ‘Lucky Strike’.

Some of the messages showed that reconnaissance for further “missions”, involving arson attacks at a restaurant 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 deliberated.

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

The drug dealer from Elmesthorpe in Leicestershire had talked about another potential attack in the Czech Republic.

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

Driving Factors and Court Comments

The proceedings revealed he was a member of multiple pro-Russian propaganda channels and was motivated by “plain and severe avarice”.

“This case is about the efforts of the Russian Federation to gain pernicious global influence using online platforms to recruit disruptors far from the Russian capital.”

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