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Six Britons acting for the Wagner mercenary group linked to Russia have been handed jail terms for setting fire to a London-based storage unit that was storing humanitarian aid intended for Ukraine.

Court Rulings and Involvement

While delivering the sentences, the judge at the Old Bailey stated that they had planned a “series of terrorist and sabotage acts” to benefit the Russian government.

Dylan Earl received a seventeen-year jail term with an additional six years on supervised release due to his “primary involvement”. Another defendant, 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 made them the first individuals to be found guilty under the 2023 National Security Act.

Jakeem Rose, aged 23, also a Croydon resident, was jailed for a term of eight years and ten months. Nii Mensah, 23, from Thornton Heath, south London, was sentenced to nine years and Ugnius Asmena, 21, who was homeless, was handed seven years. The trio were each convicted of serious fire-setting and received a further year on extended licence by the court.

Ashton Evans drug dealer hailing from Newport, Gwent, was sentenced to nine years plus a further year on supervised release after being found guilty of withholding details regarding acts of terrorism connected to a separate scheme in Mayfair.

Details of the Attack

The arson attack on a Leyton-based storage facility in East London endangered sixty fire service personnel and resulted in £1m in damage in March of the previous year.

The proceedings revealed that Earl, 21 and the 24-year-old Reeves did not leave their bedrooms while organising the attack for the Wagner group, acting on behalf of the Russian government.

The group targeted the warehouse 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 10 days later in the Spanish capital, detectives from the Met’s counter-terrorism command took over the probe.

Proof and Additional Schemes

When Earl was taken into custody, law enforcement examination of his cellphone revealed he had recordings of the warehouse fire being initiated and was in communication with the Wagner organization on the Telegram messaging app, via an account with the handles ‘Privet Bot account’ and ‘Lucky Strike alias’.

Some of the communications showed that reconnaissance for further “missions”, involving arson attacks at a restaurant and wine store in Mayfair district owned by the Russian opposition figure Evgeny Chichvarkin had already been carried out. The use of explosives to damage buildings was also deliberated.

Investigators found that Earl was also considering the possibility of kidnapping the dissident Chichvarkin and “sending him back to Russia to face prison”.

The drug dealer from Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire had discussed another potential attack in the Czech nation.

In a search of his home, law enforcement located a flag of Russia, over twenty thousand pounds in currency and cocaine with a market value of about £34,000.

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 case is about the efforts of the Russian Federation to acquire harmful worldwide sway using social media to recruit disruptors far from the Russian capital.”

She determined the fire incident had a “link to terrorism” irrespective of if the perpetrators knew it. The Wagner organization is proscribed by the UK government as a terrorist organisation.