Five convicted after Russian-backed arson attack

Five men have been convicted for their part in an arson attack on a warehouse in London containing supplies for Ukraine.

The attack was ordered by the Wagner Group, a private military organisation that acts on behalf of the Russian state.

Two units in an industrial estate in Leyton were set alight on 20 March last year, causing £1 million of damage. The warehouses were Ukrainian owned.

21-year-old Dylan Earl made contact with the Wagner Group in 2023. He then recruited others to carry out the Leyton attack and organised surveillance of two businesses in Mayfair in preparation for further arson attacks. 

Local Met officers in Waltham Forest initially investigated the fire, however once it became clear that another warehouse belonging to the same Ukrainian company was also subject to an arson attack in Madrid, Spain, detectives from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command took over the investigation. 

Earl was the first to be arrested in a B&Q car park in Hinckley, Leicestershire, on 10 April 2024. Officers searched his phone and found his contact with the Wagner Group on Telegram. Detectives extracted 56GB of data from Earl’s phone including, 5702 instant messages, 1244 e-mails, 51528 images, 3629 videos, 183 documents and 4840 social media files.

The first person he recruited was Jake Reeves, who then recruited his friend Nii Kojo Mensah to carry out the arson. Mensah recruited his friend Jakeem Rose. Ugnius Asmena was also recruited.

Mensah, Rose and Asmena met up on the evening of 20 March 2024 and travelled in a red Kia Picanto to the scene of the arson. Mensah filmed the warehouse being set alight and livestreamed it on Face Time to Earl and Reeves. 

Mensah, Rose and Asmena were convicted of aggravated arson. Rose also previously pleaded guilty to having a bladed article in a public place, in relation to a knife he left at the scene of the arson in Leyton.

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. 

Dmitrijus Paulauskas, a friend of Reeves, and Ashton Evans, who helped Earl supply drugs, were also charged as part of the investigation as social media messages showed they were both aware of the arson attack and the planned offences in Mayfair. Paulauskas was found not guilty of two counts of failing to disclose information about terrorist acts. Evans 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.

All the defendants will be sentenced at the Old Bailey at a later date.