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Six Britons working on behalf of Russia’s Wagner group have been sentenced to prison for setting fire to a located in London storage unit that was holding humanitarian aid intended for Ukraine.

Court Rulings and Involvement

Sentencing the men, the judge at the central criminal court stated that they had orchestrated a “series of terrorist and sabotage acts” 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 “leading role”. Jake Reeves, from Croydon in south London, was given twelve years in jail with one year on extended licence. Their admitted crimes resulted in them being the initial persons to be found guilty under the 2023 National Security Act.

Jakeem Rose, also a Croydon resident, was sentenced to a term of eight years and ten months. Nii Mensah, a Thornton Heath, South London local, was given nine years and Ugnius Asmena, who was without a fixed address, was handed seven years. The trio were each found guilty of serious fire-setting and given a additional year on extended licence by the judge.

Ashton Evans drug dealer from Newport in Gwent, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment with an extra 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.

Details of the Attack

The arson attack on a Leyton-based storage facility in East London put 60 firefighters at risk and caused one million pounds worth of destruction in March of the previous year.

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

The individuals involved targeted the storage facility because it was being utilized for providing emergency relief and satellite communication gear to Ukraine.

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

Evidence and Further Plans

When Earl was taken into custody, police analysis of his mobile phone revealed he had videos of the storage facility blaze being initiated and was in communication with the Wagner organization on Telegram, via an account with the usernames ‘Privet Bot account’ and ‘Lucky Strike’.

Some of the communications showed that reconnaissance for further “missions”, involving fire-related incidents at a dining establishment and wine shop in Mayfair owned by the Russian opposition figure Evgeny Chichvarkin had already taken place. The use of explosives to harm structures was also discussed.

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

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

In a residence inspection, police located a flag of Russia, over twenty thousand pounds in currency and cocaine with a street value of approximately thirty-four thousand pounds.

Driving Factors and Court Comments

The court heard he was a member of multiple channels promoting Russian propaganda and was motivated by “simple and ugly greed”.

“This case is about the attempts by the Russian government to gain pernicious global influence using online platforms to recruit disruptors far from the Russian capital.”

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