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Six Britons working on behalf of Russia’s Wagner group have been handed jail terms for igniting a London-based storage unit that was holding relief supplies destined for Ukraine.

Sentencing and Roles

Sentencing the men, the judge at the Old Bailey stated that they had planned a “series of terrorist and sabotage acts” in the interests of the Russian government.

The individual named Dylan Earl received a 17-year jail term with an extra six-year period on extended licence 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 resulted in them being the initial persons to be convicted under the 2023 National Security Act.

Jakeem Rose, aged 23, also from Croydon, was sentenced to eight years and 10 months. Nii Mensah, 23, a Thornton Heath, South London local, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment and Ugnius Asmena, who was without a fixed address, was given seven years. These three individuals were each found guilty of serious fire-setting and given a additional year on supervised release by the court.

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

Incident Specifics

The arson attack on a warehouse in Leyton, east London put 60 firefighters at risk and resulted in one million pounds worth of destruction in March last year.

The court heard that the 21-year-old Earl and Reeves, 24 remained in their residences while coordinating the incident for the Wagner mercenary organization, representing the Russian government.

The group targeted the storage facility because it was being utilized for providing humanitarian aid and StarLink satellite equipment to Ukraine.

When the identical Ukrainian firm was hit by an arson attack ten days afterward in the Spanish capital, investigators from the Metropolitan Police's anti-terror unit took over the investigation.

Evidence and Further Plans

When Earl was taken into custody, law enforcement examination of his mobile phone uncovered he had videos of the warehouse fire being initiated and was in contact with the Wagner organization on Telegram, via an user profile with the usernames ‘Privet Bot’ and ‘Lucky Strike alias’.

Some of the messages showed that preliminary surveillance for additional operations, involving fire-related incidents at a dining establishment and wine shop in Mayfair belonging to the Russian opposition figure Evgeny Chichvarkin had already taken place. The use of explosives to damage buildings was also discussed.

Detectives found that Earl was also considering the potential abduction of the dissident Chichvarkin and “exiling him back to Russia to face prison”.

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

In a search of his home, police found a Russian flag, more than £20,000 in cash and cocaine with a street value of about £34,000.

Driving Factors and Court Comments

The court heard he was a participant in numerous channels promoting Russian propaganda and was driven by “simple and ugly greed”.

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

She found the fire incident had a “link to terrorism” regardless of whether the individuals responsible were aware of it. The Wagner organization is proscribed by the UK government as a terrorist organisation.