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Six Britons working on behalf of the Wagner mercenary group linked to Russia have been sentenced to prison for igniting a located in London storage unit that was holding relief supplies destined for Ukraine.

Sentencing and Roles

While delivering the sentences, the judge at the Old Bailey stated that they had planned a “campaign of terrorism and sabotage” to benefit the Russian state.

The individual named Dylan Earl was given a seventeen-year prison sentence with an extra six-year period on extended licence due to his “primary involvement”. Jake Reeves, a resident of Croydon, South London, was given twelve years in jail with one year on extended licence. Their admitted crimes resulted in them being the first individuals to be found guilty under the National Security Act 2023.

Jakeem Rose, also from Croydon, was sentenced to a term of eight years and ten 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 received a further year on supervised release by the court.

Ashton Evans drug dealer from Newport in Gwent, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment plus a further year on supervised release after being convicted of failing to disclose details regarding terrorist acts connected to another plot in the Mayfair area.

Incident Specifics

The deliberate fire on a warehouse in Leyton, east London endangered sixty fire service personnel and caused one million pounds worth of destruction in March last year.

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

The individuals involved selected the warehouse because it was being utilized for providing emergency relief and satellite communication gear to Ukraine.

When the same Ukrainian company was subjected to an arson attack 10 days later in Madrid, detectives from the Met’s counter-terrorism command 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 warehouse fire being initiated and was in communication with the Wagner organization on Telegram, via an account with the usernames ‘Privet Bot’ and ‘Lucky Strike alias’.

Some of the messages indicated that preliminary surveillance for further “missions”, involving fire-related incidents at a dining establishment and wine store in Mayfair belonging to the Russian dissident Evgeny Chichvarkin had already been carried out. The use of explosives to damage buildings was also discussed.

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

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

In a search of his home, police located a Russian flag, more than £20,000 in cash and cocaine with a market value of approximately thirty-four thousand pounds.

Motivations and Judicial Remarks

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

“This legal matter concerns the attempts by the Russian government to acquire harmful worldwide sway using social media to enlist saboteurs vast distances from Moscow.”

She found the fire incident had a “terrorist connection” regardless of whether the perpetrators were aware of it. The Wagner organization is proscribed by the UK government as a terrorist organisation.