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

Court Rulings and Involvement

While delivering the sentences, the presiding judge at the central criminal court stated that they had orchestrated a “series of terrorist and sabotage acts” in the interests of the Russian state.

Dylan Earl received a seventeen-year jail term with an additional six years on supervised release due to his “primary involvement”. Another defendant, Jake Reeves, a resident of Croydon, South London, was given twelve years in jail with an additional year on extended licence. The offences they admitted made them the initial persons to be found guilty under the National Security Act 2023.

Jakeem Rose, aged 23, also a Croydon resident, was jailed for eight years and 10 months. Nii Mensah, 23, a Thornton Heath, South London local, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment and Ugnius Asmena, 21, who was without a fixed address, was handed seven years in prison. These three individuals were each found guilty of serious fire-setting and given 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 failing to disclose information about acts of terrorism relating to another plot in the Mayfair area.

Details of the Attack

The deliberate fire on a warehouse in Leyton, 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 remained in their residences while coordinating the incident for the Wagner mercenary organization, representing the Russian government.

The group selected the storage facility because it was being used to supply humanitarian aid and satellite communication gear 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, police analysis of his mobile phone revealed he had recordings of the storage facility blaze being initiated and was in communication with the Wagner group on Telegram, via an user profile with the usernames ‘Privet Bot account’ and ‘Lucky Strike alias’.

Some of the messages indicated that reconnaissance for further “missions”, involving arson attacks at a restaurant and wine store in Mayfair district owned by the Russian opposition figure Evgeny Chichvarkin had already taken place. The use of explosives to damage buildings was also deliberated.

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

The drug dealer from Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire had talked about another potential attack in the Czech Republic.

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

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 attempts by the Russian government to acquire harmful worldwide sway using online platforms to enlist saboteurs far from the Russian capital.”

She determined the fire incident had a “link to terrorism” regardless of whether the individuals responsible knew it. The Wagner group is banned by the UK government as a terrorist organisation.