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Six Britons working on behalf of the Wagner mercenary group linked to Russia have been sentenced to prison for setting fire to a located in London storage unit that was holding relief supplies destined for Ukraine.

Sentencing and Roles

While delivering the sentences, the presiding judge at the Old Bailey stated that they had orchestrated a “series of terrorist and sabotage acts” in the interests of the Russian government.

Dylan Earl was given a 17-year prison sentence with an extra six-year period on extended licence due to his “leading role”. Jake Reeves, from Croydon in south London, was sentenced to twelve years in jail with an additional year on extended licence. Their admitted crimes resulted in them being the first individuals to be convicted under the National Security Act 2023.

Jakeem Rose, aged 23, also from Croydon, was sentenced to eight years and 10 months. Nii Mensah, 23, from Thornton Heath, south London, was given nine years imprisonment and Ugnius Asmena, who was without a fixed address, was handed seven years. The trio were each found guilty of serious fire-setting and given a additional year on extended licence by the court.

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 extended licence after being found guilty of withholding details regarding terrorist acts connected to a separate scheme in the Mayfair area.

Incident Specifics

The arson attack on a Leyton-based storage facility in East London endangered sixty fire service personnel and caused one million pounds worth of destruction in March last year.

The court heard that the 21-year-old Earl and the 24-year-old Reeves remained in their residences while organising the attack for the Wagner group, acting on behalf of the Russian government.

The group selected the storage facility because it was being used to supply humanitarian aid and StarLink satellite equipment to Ukraine.

When the same Ukrainian company was subjected to an arson attack 10 days later in the Spanish capital, 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 storage facility blaze being initiated 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 reconnaissance for further “missions”, involving arson attacks at a restaurant and wine shop in Mayfair district owned by the Russian opposition figure Evgeny Chichvarkin had already been carried out. The employment of explosive devices to harm structures was also deliberated.

Investigators found that the defendant Earl was also raising the potential abduction of the dissident Chichvarkin and “exiling him back to Russia to confront imprisonment”.

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

In a residence inspection, law enforcement found a Russian flag, over twenty thousand pounds in currency and cocaine hydrochloride with a street value of approximately thirty-four thousand pounds.

Driving Factors and Court Comments

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

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

She found the fire incident had a “link to terrorism” irrespective of if the individuals responsible knew it. The Wagner group is proscribed by the British authorities as a terrorist group.