A gang involved in a Russian mercenary group-ordered arson attack on a London warehouse providing aid to Ukraine have been jailed.
The attack was carried out at the behest of the Wagner Group – a private military organisation that acts on behalf of the Russian state – and caused around £1m of damage.
Dylan Earl, along with Jake Reeves and four others, were sentenced for espionage, terrorism offences and arson at the Old Bailey on Friday for their involvement.
Earl, 21, admitted planning the arson attack on industrial units in Leyton, east London, in March last year while working under the instruction of the Wagner group, which is proscribed as a terror group in the UK.
He was jailed for a total of 23 years, of which 17 will be spent in prison. Reeves was sentenced to 12 years, with a further year on licence.
(L-R) Jake Reeves, 23, and Dylan James Earl, 20. Pics: Met Police
The court was told Earl, from Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire, and Reeves, 24, from Croydon, south London, targeted the site because it was being used to supply humanitarian aid and StarLink satellite equipment to Ukraine.
He recruited Reeves to help him plot the arson attack. Reeves then recruited his friend Nii Kojo Mensah to carry out the attack.
Mensah recruited his friend Jakeem Rose, while Ugnius Asmena was also recruited to take part.
It took eight fire crews, with 60 firefighters, to get the fire under control.
CCTV of three men setting fire to a warehouse
Damage to an east London warehouse that was shown to the jury at the Old Bailey.
Pic: PA
The gang had plotted further arson attacks on a restaurant and wine shop in Mayfair, central London and planned the attempted kidnapping of the owner, the wealthy Russian dissident Evgeny Chichvarkin.
Paul Hynes KC, said in mitigation for Earl, said he was “easy meat for the very sophisticated operatives of the Wagner Group acting as proxies for the Russian Federation”.
He described Earl as an “easy puppet in the hands of others” who sought “praise, importance and significance” and saw the world through the “prism of online gaming”.
Damage to an east London warehouse that was shown to the jury at the Old Bailey.
Pic: Met Police/PA
Mensah, 23, from Thornton Heath, Rose, 23, of Croydon, and Asmena, 21, of no fixed address, were convicted of aggravated arson.
Ashton Evans, who helped Earl supply drugs, was also charged as part of the investigation, as social media messages allegedly showed he was both aware of the arson attack and the planned offences in Mayfair.
Evans, 20, of Newport, was found not guilty of the first count (relating to the Leyton arson) but guilty of the second count related to the plot to damage businesses in Mayfair.
Earl pleaded guilty to preparatory conduct, contrary to section 18 of the National Security Act (NSA) 2023, aggravated arson, possession with intent to supply Class A drugs and possession of criminal property.
Reeves pleaded guilty to agreeing to accept a material benefit from a foreign intelligence service, contrary to section 17(2) and (11), NSA 2023, and aggravated arson.
Earl and Reeves are the first people to be convicted of offences under the National Security Act, which came into legislation at the end of 2023.
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