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Six Britons working on behalf of the Wagner mercenary group linked to Russia have been handed jail terms for setting fire to a London-based storage unit that was storing humanitarian aid intended for Ukraine.

Court Rulings and Involvement

While delivering the sentences, 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 received a seventeen-year prison sentence with an extra six-year period on supervised release due to his “leading role”. Another defendant, Jake Reeves, from Croydon in south London, was sentenced to twelve years in jail with one year on supervised release. Their admitted crimes resulted in them being the first individuals to be found guilty under the 2023 National Security Act.

Jakeem Rose, aged 23, also a Croydon resident, was sentenced to a term of eight years and ten months. Nii Mensah, from Thornton Heath, south London, was given nine years and Ugnius Asmena, who was without a fixed address, was given seven years in prison. These three individuals were each found guilty of aggravated arson and received a further year on extended licence by the court.

Ashton Evans, a 20-year-old drug dealer from Newport in Gwent, was sentenced to nine years with an extra year on supervised release after being convicted of withholding details regarding terrorist acts relating to a separate scheme in Mayfair.

Details of the Attack

The deliberate fire on a Leyton-based storage facility in East London put 60 firefighters at risk and caused £1m in damage in March last year.

The proceedings revealed that the 21-year-old Earl and Reeves, 24 did not leave their bedrooms while coordinating the incident for the Wagner group, representing the Russian Federation.

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

When the same Ukrainian company was subjected to an intentional fire 10 days later in Madrid, detectives from the Met’s counter-terrorism command took over the investigation.

Evidence and Further Plans

When Earl was taken into custody, law enforcement examination of his mobile phone uncovered he had recordings of the warehouse fire being initiated and was in communication with the Wagner organization on Telegram, via an user profile with the usernames ‘Privet Bot’ and ‘Lucky Strike’.

Some of the communications showed that preliminary surveillance for further “missions”, involving fire-related incidents at a restaurant and wine store in Mayfair belonging to the Russian opposition figure Evgeny Chichvarkin had already taken place. The employment of explosive devices to harm structures was also discussed.

Detectives found that Earl was also raising the possibility of kidnapping Chichvarkin and “exiling him back to Russia to confront imprisonment”.

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

In a residence inspection, law enforcement found 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 court heard he was a participant in multiple channels promoting Russian propaganda and was driven by “simple and ugly greed”.

“This legal matter concerns 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 fire incident had a “terrorist connection” irrespective of if the perpetrators knew it. The Wagner group is banned by the UK government as a terrorist group.