A Group of Six British Citizens Jailed for £1m Fire Attack on Warehouse Containing Ukrainian Humanitarian Aid

A group of six individuals from Britain acting for Russia’s Wagner group have been sentenced to prison for setting fire to a London-based storage unit that was holding humanitarian aid intended for Ukraine.

Sentencing and Roles

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

The individual named Dylan Earl received a 17-year prison sentence with an additional six years on supervised release due to his “primary involvement”. Jake Reeves, from Croydon in south London, was given twelve years in prison with one year on supervised release. Their admitted crimes made them the initial persons to be convicted under the National Security Act 2023.

Jakeem Rose, aged 23, also a Croydon resident, was jailed for eight years and 10 months. Nii Mensah, 23, from Thornton Heath, south London, was given nine years imprisonment and Ugnius Asmena, 21, who was homeless, was handed seven years in prison. These three individuals were each found guilty of aggravated arson and received a further year on supervised release by the judge.

Ashton Evans, a 20-year-old drug dealer from Newport in Gwent, was jailed for nine years imprisonment with an extra year on supervised release after being convicted 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 put 60 firefighters at risk and caused £1m in damage in March last year.

The proceedings revealed that Earl, 21 and Reeves, 24 remained in their residences while coordinating the incident for the Wagner mercenary organization, acting on behalf of the Russian government.

The individuals involved selected the warehouse because it was being utilized for providing humanitarian aid and StarLink satellite equipment to Ukraine.

When the same Ukrainian company was subjected to an arson attack ten days afterward in Madrid, investigators from the Metropolitan Police's anti-terror unit took over the probe.

Proof and Additional Schemes

When Earl was arrested, police analysis of his cellphone revealed he had recordings of the warehouse fire being initiated and was in communication with the Wagner organization on Telegram, via an user profile with the handles ‘Privet Bot account’ and ‘Lucky Strike alias’.

Some of the communications indicated that reconnaissance for further “missions”, involving arson attacks at a restaurant and wine shop in Mayfair district belonging to the Russian opposition figure Evgeny Chichvarkin had already taken place. The use of explosives to damage buildings was also discussed.

Detectives discovered that 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 an additional planned incident in the Czech Republic.

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

Driving Factors and Court Comments

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

“This case is about the attempts by the Russian government to acquire harmful worldwide sway using social media to enlist saboteurs far from the Russian capital.”

She determined the arson attack had a “terrorist connection” irrespective of if the perpetrators knew it. The Wagner organization is banned by the British authorities as a terrorist organisation.