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

Sentencing and Roles

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 government.

The individual named Dylan Earl received a 17-year prison sentence with an extra six-year period on supervised release due to his “primary involvement”. Jake Reeves, from Croydon in south London, was sentenced to 12 years in prison with one year on extended licence. 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 imprisonment and Ugnius Asmena, who was homeless, was handed seven years in prison. These three individuals were each found guilty 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 with an extra year on extended licence after being found guilty of withholding information about 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 resulted in £1m in damage in March of the previous year.

The proceedings revealed that the 21-year-old Earl and Reeves, 24 remained in their residences while organising the attack for the Wagner group, representing the Russian government.

The individuals involved 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 arson attack 10 days later in the Spanish capital, detectives from the Met’s counter-terrorism command assumed control of the investigation.

Proof and Additional Schemes

When Earl was arrested, police analysis of his cellphone uncovered he had recordings of the storage facility blaze being initiated and was in communication with the Wagner organization on Telegram, via an user profile with the usernames ‘Privet Bot account’ and ‘Lucky Strike’.

Some of the messages indicated that preliminary surveillance for additional operations, 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 damage buildings was also discussed.

Detectives discovered that the defendant Earl was also considering the possibility of kidnapping Chichvarkin and “sending him back to Russia to confront imprisonment”.

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

In a residence inspection, law enforcement 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 participant in multiple pro-Russian propaganda channels and was driven by “simple and ugly greed”.

“This legal matter concerns the efforts of the Russian Federation to acquire harmful worldwide sway using online platforms to recruit disruptors vast distances from Moscow.”

She determined the fire incident had a “terrorist connection” regardless of whether the individuals responsible knew it. The Wagner organization is proscribed by the UK government as a terrorist organisation.