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Six Britons working on behalf of Russia’s Wagner group have been sentenced to prison for igniting a located in London storage unit that was holding humanitarian aid intended for Ukraine.

Sentencing and Roles

Sentencing the men, the presiding judge at the central criminal court remarked that they had planned a “campaign of terrorism and sabotage” to benefit the Russian government.

Dylan Earl received a seventeen-year prison sentence with an additional six years on supervised release due to his “primary involvement”. Jake Reeves, from Croydon in south London, was sentenced to twelve years in prison with one year on supervised release. Their admitted crimes made them the initial persons to be found guilty under the 2023 National Security Act.

Jakeem Rose, also a Croydon resident, was sentenced to a term of eight years and ten months. Nii Mensah, from Thornton Heath, south London, was sentenced to nine years and Ugnius Asmena, who was homeless, was handed seven years. The trio were each convicted of serious fire-setting and received a further year on extended licence by the judge.

Ashton Evans, a 20-year-old drug dealer from Newport in Gwent, was sentenced to nine years with an extra year on extended licence after being found guilty of failing to disclose details regarding terrorist acts connected to a separate scheme 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 resulted in one million pounds worth of destruction in March of the previous year.

The court heard that the 21-year-old Earl and the 24-year-old Reeves 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 StarLink satellite equipment to Ukraine.

When the same Ukrainian company was subjected to an arson attack ten days afterward in Madrid, investigators from the Metropolitan Police's anti-terror unit assumed control of the probe.

Proof and Additional Schemes

When Earl was taken into custody, law enforcement examination of his mobile phone revealed he had videos of the storage facility blaze being started and was in contact with the Wagner group on Telegram, via an account with the usernames ‘Privet Bot account’ and ‘Lucky Strike alias’.

Some of the communications showed that reconnaissance for additional operations, involving fire-related incidents at a dining establishment and wine store in Mayfair belonging to the Russian dissident Evgeny Chichvarkin had already taken place. The employment of explosive devices to harm structures was also discussed.

Detectives found that Earl was also considering the potential abduction of the dissident Chichvarkin and “exiling him back to Russia to face prison”.

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

In a search of his home, police located a flag of Russia, more than £20,000 in cash and cocaine hydrochloride with a street value of about £34,000.

Motivations and Judicial Remarks

The court heard he was a member of multiple channels promoting Russian propaganda and was motivated by “plain and severe avarice”.

“This case is about the attempts by the Russian government to acquire harmful worldwide sway using social media to enlist saboteurs far from the Russian capital.”

She determined the fire incident had a “terrorist connection” regardless of whether the individuals responsible were aware of it. The Wagner group is proscribed by the British authorities as a terrorist organisation.