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Six Britons acting for Russia’s Wagner group have been sentenced to prison for setting fire to a London-based storage unit that was holding relief supplies destined for Ukraine.

Sentencing and Roles

While delivering the sentences, the judge at the Old Bailey stated that they had planned a “campaign of terrorism and sabotage” in the interests of the Russian state.

Dylan Earl received a seventeen-year jail term 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 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 a Croydon resident, was sentenced to eight years and 10 months. Nii Mensah, 23, a Thornton Heath, South London local, 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 given a further year on extended licence by the court.

Ashton Evans, a 20-year-old individual involved in drug trafficking hailing from Newport, Gwent, was sentenced to nine years plus a further year on supervised release after being convicted of withholding information about acts of terrorism relating to a separate scheme in Mayfair.

Incident Specifics

The arson attack on a warehouse in Leyton, east London put 60 firefighters at risk and caused £1m in damage in March of the previous year.

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

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

When the identical Ukrainian firm was hit by an arson attack ten days afterward in Madrid, detectives from the Met’s counter-terrorism command assumed control of the investigation.

Evidence and Further Plans

When Earl was arrested, law enforcement examination 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 user profile with the handles ‘Privet Bot account’ and ‘Lucky Strike’.

Some of the communications indicated that preliminary surveillance for further “missions”, involving arson attacks at a restaurant and wine shop in Mayfair district belonging to the Russian dissident Evgeny Chichvarkin had already taken place. The use of explosives to damage buildings was also deliberated.

Detectives found that the defendant Earl was also considering the possibility of kidnapping Chichvarkin and “sending him back to Russia to face prison”.

The individual involved in narcotics from Elmesthorpe in Leicestershire had discussed an additional planned incident in the Czech Republic.

In a residence inspection, police located a Russian flag, over twenty thousand pounds in currency and cocaine hydrochloride with a street value of about £34,000.

Driving Factors and Court Comments

The court heard he was a participant in multiple pro-Russian propaganda channels and was driven by “plain and severe avarice”.

“This case is about the attempts by the Russian government to acquire harmful worldwide sway using online platforms to recruit disruptors vast distances from Moscow.”

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