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Six Britons working on behalf of Russia’s Wagner group have been handed jail terms for setting fire to a London-based warehouse that was storing humanitarian aid intended for Ukraine.

Sentencing and Roles

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

Dylan Earl received a seventeen-year jail term with an extra six-year period on extended licence due to his “primary involvement”. Another defendant, Jake Reeves, a resident of Croydon, South London, was given 12 years in jail with an additional year on supervised release. The offences they admitted made them the initial persons to be convicted under the 2023 National Security Act.

Jakeem Rose, aged 23, also from Croydon, was jailed for eight years and 10 months. Nii Mensah, 23, from Thornton Heath, south London, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment and Ugnius Asmena, 21, who was homeless, was given seven years. These three individuals were each found guilty of aggravated arson and given a additional year on extended licence by the judge.

Ashton Evans individual involved in drug trafficking from Newport in Gwent, was sentenced to nine years with an extra year on extended licence after being convicted of withholding details regarding terrorist acts connected to another plot in Mayfair.

Incident Specifics

The arson attack on a Leyton-based storage facility in East London endangered sixty fire service personnel and caused one million pounds worth of destruction in March last year.

The court heard that Earl, 21 and Reeves, 24 did not leave their bedrooms while organising the attack for the Wagner group, representing the Russian Federation.

The group targeted the warehouse because it was being used to supply humanitarian aid and StarLink satellite equipment to Ukraine.

When the identical Ukrainian firm was subjected to an arson attack 10 days later in the Spanish capital, investigators from the Metropolitan Police's anti-terror unit took over the probe.

Evidence and Further Plans

When Earl was taken into custody, police analysis of his mobile phone revealed he had videos of the warehouse fire being started 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 communications indicated that reconnaissance for further “missions”, involving arson attacks at a restaurant 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 the defendant Earl was also raising the possibility of kidnapping the dissident Chichvarkin and “sending him back to Russia to face prison”.

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

In a residence inspection, law enforcement found a Russian flag, over twenty thousand pounds in currency and cocaine hydrochloride with a market value of about £34,000.

Driving Factors and Court Comments

The proceedings revealed he was a member of multiple pro-Russian propaganda channels and was motivated by “plain and severe avarice”.

“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 determined the fire incident had a “link to terrorism” regardless of whether the perpetrators were aware of it. The Wagner organization is banned by the UK government as a terrorist group.