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Six Britons working on behalf of the Wagner mercenary group linked to Russia have been sentenced to prison for setting fire to a London-based warehouse that was storing relief supplies destined for Ukraine.

Sentencing and Roles

While delivering the sentences, the judge at the central criminal court stated that they had planned a “campaign of terrorism and sabotage” in the interests of the Russian government.

Dylan Earl was given a 17-year jail term with an extra six-year period on supervised release due to his “primary involvement”. Jake Reeves, from Croydon in south London, was given 12 years in jail with one year on extended licence. Their admitted crimes made them the initial persons to be found guilty under the 2023 National Security Act.

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 given nine years imprisonment and Ugnius Asmena, who was without a fixed address, was given seven years in prison. These three individuals were each found guilty of aggravated arson and given a additional year on supervised release by the court.

Ashton Evans, a 20-year-old individual involved in drug trafficking from Newport in Gwent, was jailed for nine years imprisonment plus a further year on extended licence after being convicted of failing to disclose details regarding terrorist acts connected to a separate scheme in the Mayfair area.

Incident Specifics

The arson attack on a Leyton-based storage facility in 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 did not leave their bedrooms while coordinating the incident for the Wagner group, acting on behalf of the Russian Federation.

The individuals involved targeted the storage facility because it was being used to supply humanitarian aid and StarLink satellite equipment 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.

Evidence and Further Plans

When Earl was arrested, law enforcement examination of his cellphone 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 account with the usernames ‘Privet Bot account’ and ‘Lucky Strike’.

Some of the messages 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 been carried out. The use of explosives to damage buildings was also deliberated.

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

The individual involved in narcotics from Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire had talked about another potential attack in the Czech Republic.

In a search of his home, law enforcement 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 numerous channels promoting Russian propaganda and was motivated by “plain and severe avarice”.

“This case is about the efforts of the Russian Federation to gain pernicious global influence using social media to recruit disruptors vast distances from Moscow.”

She determined the fire incident had a “link to terrorism” regardless of whether the perpetrators knew it. The Wagner organization is banned by the British authorities as a terrorist organisation.