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Six Britons working on behalf of the Wagner mercenary group linked to Russia have been sentenced to prison for igniting a London-based storage unit that was storing humanitarian aid intended for Ukraine.

Sentencing and Roles

Sentencing the men, the presiding judge at the central criminal court remarked that they had planned a “campaign of terrorism and sabotage” to benefit the Russian government.

Dylan Earl received a 17-year prison sentence with an additional six years on extended licence due to his “leading role”. Another defendant, Jake Reeves, from Croydon in south London, was sentenced to 12 years in jail with an additional year on supervised release. The offences they admitted made them the first individuals to be convicted under the 2023 National Security Act.

Jakeem Rose, aged 23, also a Croydon resident, was sentenced to a term of eight years and ten months. Nii Mensah, 23, a Thornton Heath, South London local, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment and Ugnius Asmena, 21, who was homeless, was given seven years in prison. The trio were each found guilty of aggravated arson and received a further year on supervised release by the judge.

Ashton Evans individual involved in drug trafficking from Newport in Gwent, was jailed for nine years 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.

Details of the Attack

The deliberate fire on a Leyton-based storage facility in East London endangered sixty fire service personnel and resulted in £1m in damage in March last 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 mercenary organization, representing the Russian Federation.

The individuals involved selected the warehouse because it was being used to supply emergency relief and satellite communication gear to Ukraine.

When the identical Ukrainian firm was subjected to an intentional fire ten days afterward in Madrid, investigators from the Metropolitan Police's anti-terror unit took over the probe.

Evidence and Further Plans

When Earl was arrested, law enforcement examination of his cellphone uncovered he had recordings of the warehouse fire being initiated and was in contact with the Wagner group on Telegram, 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 shop in Mayfair owned by the Russian dissident Evgeny Chichvarkin had already taken place. The employment of explosive devices to damage buildings was also deliberated.

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

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

In a residence inspection, police 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 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 social media to enlist saboteurs vast distances from Moscow.”

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 British authorities as a terrorist organisation.