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Six Britons acting for Russia’s Wagner group have been sentenced to prison for igniting a located in London storage unit that was storing humanitarian aid destined for Ukraine.

Sentencing and Roles

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

Dylan Earl was given a 17-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 sentenced to twelve years in prison with an additional year on extended licence. Their admitted crimes resulted in them being the initial persons to be convicted under the National Security Act 2023.

Jakeem Rose, aged 23, also a Croydon resident, was jailed for a term of eight years and ten months. Nii Mensah, 23, a Thornton Heath, South London local, was given nine years imprisonment and Ugnius Asmena, 21, who was homeless, was given seven years in prison. These three individuals were each convicted of serious fire-setting and received a additional year on extended licence by the judge.

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

Incident Specifics

The deliberate fire on a warehouse in Leyton, east London endangered sixty fire service personnel and caused £1m in damage in March of the previous year.

The proceedings revealed that the 21-year-old Earl and the 24-year-old Reeves remained in their residences while organising the attack for the Wagner group, acting on behalf of the Russian government.

The individuals involved selected the storage facility because it was being used to supply humanitarian aid and satellite communication gear to Ukraine.

When the same Ukrainian company was subjected to an intentional fire 10 days later in Madrid, detectives from the Met’s counter-terrorism command took over the probe.

Evidence and Further Plans

When Earl was arrested, police analysis of his cellphone revealed he had videos of the storage facility blaze being initiated and was in contact with the Wagner group on Telegram, via an user profile with the handles ‘Privet Bot’ and ‘Lucky Strike alias’.

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

Investigators discovered that the defendant Earl was also considering the potential abduction of Chichvarkin and “sending him back to Russia to face prison”.

The drug dealer from Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire had talked about another potential attack in the Czech Republic.

In a residence inspection, law enforcement located a Russian flag, more than £20,000 in cash and cocaine with a market value of about £34,000.

Motivations and Judicial Remarks

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

“This legal matter concerns the efforts of the Russian Federation to gain pernicious global influence using social media to enlist saboteurs far from the Russian capital.”

She determined the arson attack had a “link to terrorism” irrespective of if the individuals responsible were aware of it. The Wagner organization is proscribed by the UK government as a terrorist group.