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A group of six individuals from Britain acting for Russia’s Wagner group have been handed jail terms for igniting a London-based storage unit that was holding relief supplies intended for Ukraine.

Sentencing and Roles

Sentencing the men, the judge at the central criminal court remarked that they had planned a “campaign of terrorism and sabotage” in the interests of the Russian state.

Dylan Earl received a seventeen-year prison sentence with an extra six-year period on extended licence due to his “primary involvement”. Another defendant, Jake Reeves, from Croydon in south London, was sentenced to 12 years in prison with an additional year on supervised release. Their admitted crimes resulted in them being the initial persons to be found guilty under the National Security Act 2023.

Jakeem Rose, also a Croydon resident, was sentenced to a term of eight years and ten months. Nii Mensah, 23, from Thornton Heath, south London, was given nine years and Ugnius Asmena, who was without a fixed address, was given seven years. The trio were each found guilty of serious fire-setting and received a additional year on supervised release by the court.

Ashton Evans, a 20-year-old drug dealer from Newport in Gwent, was jailed for nine years plus a further year on supervised release after being convicted of withholding information about acts of terrorism relating to a separate scheme in Mayfair.

Incident Specifics

The deliberate fire 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 the 24-year-old Reeves remained in their residences while organising the attack for the Wagner mercenary organization, acting on behalf of the Russian government.

The individuals involved targeted the storage facility because it was being used to supply emergency relief and satellite communication gear to Ukraine.

When the same Ukrainian company was subjected to an intentional fire 10 days later in the Spanish capital, investigators from the Metropolitan Police's anti-terror unit took over the investigation.

Evidence and Further Plans

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

Some of the messages indicated that preliminary surveillance for additional operations, involving fire-related incidents at a dining establishment and wine shop in Mayfair owned by the Russian opposition figure Evgeny Chichvarkin had already taken place. The use of explosives to damage buildings was also deliberated.

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

The individual involved in narcotics from Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire had discussed an additional planned incident in the Czech nation.

In a search of his home, police found a flag of Russia, over twenty thousand pounds in currency and cocaine hydrochloride with a street value of about £34,000.

Driving Factors and Court Comments

The proceedings revealed he was a member of numerous pro-Russian propaganda channels and was driven by “simple and ugly greed”.

“This case is about the efforts of the Russian Federation to acquire harmful worldwide sway using online platforms to enlist saboteurs vast distances from Moscow.”

She found the fire incident had a “link to terrorism” irrespective of if the individuals responsible were aware of it. The Wagner organization is proscribed by the British authorities as a terrorist group.