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A group of six individuals from Britain working on behalf of Russia’s Wagner group have been handed jail terms for igniting a London-based warehouse that was holding humanitarian aid 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” to benefit the Russian state.

Dylan Earl was given a 17-year prison sentence with an extra six-year period on supervised release due to his “leading role”. Jake Reeves, a resident of Croydon, South London, was given 12 years in jail with an additional year on supervised release. Their admitted crimes made them the first individuals to be found guilty under the National Security Act 2023.

Jakeem Rose, also a Croydon resident, was jailed for eight years and 10 months. Nii Mensah, 23, from Thornton Heath, south London, was given nine years and Ugnius Asmena, who was without a fixed address, was handed seven years. These three individuals were each found guilty of serious fire-setting and received a further year on extended licence by the judge.

Ashton Evans, a 20-year-old individual involved in drug trafficking from Newport in Gwent, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment with an extra year on extended licence after being found guilty of withholding details regarding terrorist acts relating to a separate scheme in Mayfair.

Details of the Attack

The arson attack on a Leyton-based storage facility in East London put 60 firefighters at risk and caused £1m in damage in March of the previous year.

The proceedings revealed that the 21-year-old Earl and Reeves, 24 did not leave their bedrooms while coordinating the incident for the Wagner mercenary organization, representing the Russian Federation.

The group 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 assumed control of the investigation.

Proof and Additional Schemes

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

Some of the communications showed that preliminary surveillance for further “missions”, involving arson attacks at a restaurant and wine store in Mayfair owned by the Russian opposition figure Evgeny Chichvarkin had already taken place. The use of explosives to harm structures was also deliberated.

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

The drug dealer from Elmesthorpe in Leicestershire had discussed another potential attack in the Czech Republic.

In a residence inspection, law enforcement found a flag of Russia, more than £20,000 in cash and cocaine with a street value of approximately thirty-four thousand pounds.

Motivations and Judicial Remarks

The court heard he was a member of numerous pro-Russian propaganda channels and was driven by “plain and severe avarice”.

“This legal matter concerns the efforts of the Russian Federation to acquire harmful worldwide sway using social media to recruit disruptors far from the Russian capital.”

She determined the arson attack had a “link to terrorism” irrespective of if the perpetrators knew it. The Wagner group is proscribed by the UK government as a terrorist organisation.