🔗 Share this article

Six Britons acting for the Wagner mercenary group linked to Russia have been handed jail terms for igniting 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 remarked that they had orchestrated a “series of terrorist and sabotage acts” in the interests of the Russian state.

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, a resident of Croydon, South London, was given 12 years in prison with one year on extended licence. Their admitted crimes made them the first individuals to be found guilty under the National Security Act 2023.

Jakeem Rose, also from Croydon, was jailed for a term of eight years and ten months. Nii Mensah, 23, a Thornton Heath, South London local, was given nine years imprisonment and Ugnius Asmena, 21, who was without a fixed address, was given seven years. The trio were each convicted of aggravated arson and given a additional year on supervised release by the court.

Ashton Evans, a 20-year-old individual involved in drug trafficking from Newport in Gwent, was jailed for nine years imprisonment plus a further year on supervised release after being found guilty of failing to disclose details regarding acts of terrorism connected to another plot 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 £1m in damage in March last year.

The court heard that Earl, 21 and Reeves, 24 remained in their residences while organising the attack for the Wagner group, representing the Russian Federation.

The individuals involved selected the storage facility because it was being utilized for providing humanitarian aid and StarLink satellite equipment to Ukraine.

When the identical Ukrainian firm was hit by an arson attack 10 days later in the Spanish capital, detectives from the Met’s counter-terrorism command assumed control of the investigation.

Evidence and Further Plans

When Earl was taken into custody, law enforcement examination of his mobile phone uncovered he had videos of the warehouse fire being initiated and was in communication with the Wagner group on Telegram, via an account with the usernames ‘Privet Bot account’ 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 belonging to the Russian opposition figure Evgeny Chichvarkin had already been carried out. The employment of explosive devices to damage buildings was also discussed.

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

The drug dealer from Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire had talked about an additional planned incident in the Czech Republic.

In a search of his home, law enforcement found a flag of Russia, more than £20,000 in cash and cocaine with a market value of about £34,000.

Driving Factors and Court Comments

The proceedings revealed he was a participant in 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 vast distances from Moscow.”

She determined the fire incident had a “link to terrorism” irrespective of if the perpetrators were aware of it. The Wagner organization is banned by the UK government as a terrorist organisation.