Six members of a gang – four of them from Croydon – have been convicted following an Old Bailey trial on a range of charges brought under the National Security Act, following an arson attack on a Ukrainian-run business and a kidnapping plot against a Russian dissident
Arson: the warehouse in Leyton where £1m of damage was caused by the wannabe Russian spies
After a five-week trial at the Old Bailey, six men have been convicted for their involvement in a Russian-ordered arson attack on a London warehouse full of supplies destined for Ukraine.
Four of the gang are from Croydon, with one of them, ringleader Jake Reeves, having been arrested last year at East Croydon Station.
Dylan Earl, 21, from Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire, and Reeves, 23, from Croydon, admitted aggravated arson on behalf of the Wagner Group and were the first to be convicted of offences under the National Security Act 2023.
An investigation led by the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command found that Earl had established contact with the Wagner Group, the private military organisation that acts on behalf of the Kremlin.
Earl recruited the group and organised surveillance of two businesses in Mayfair in preparation for further arson attacks.
Approximately £1million of damage was caused after two units on the industrial estate in Leyton were deliberately set alight on March 20 last year.
Nii Kojo Mensah, 23, from Thornton Heath, livestreamed on his phone as he and Jakeem Rose, 23, from Croydon, set fire to the building while their friend Ugnius Asmena, 20, waited in a car.
Yesterday, the jury found Mensah, Rose and Asmena guilty of aggravated arson with intent to endanger life.
The attack was orchestrated by Earl and Reeves, a Gatwick airport cleaner who targeted the warehouse because it was being used to supply humanitarian aid and StarLink satellite equipment to Ukraine.
They went on to plot more arson attacks in a restaurant and wine shop in Mayfair and to kidnap the owner, the wealthy Russian dissident Evgeny Chichvarkin, which were unsuccessful.
Jurors heard “overwhelming” evidence linking the arsonists to the warehouse attack – much of it because the gang livestreamed the attack on social media and shared the videos and messages, keeping the material on their mobile phones (an example of which is shown above).
Analysis of Earl’s mobile phone revealed his contact with the Wagner Group on Telegram, via an account with the usernames “Privet Bot” and”‘Lucky Strike”.
In total, detectives extracted 56GB of data from Earl’s phone including, 5,702 instant messages, 1,244 emails, 51,528 images, 3,629 videos, 183 documents and 4,840 social media files.
Among the footage was a video that showed Rose and Mensah getting out of the vehicle, climbing over a wall and approaching the warehouses. As they fled the scene, Rose dropped a large knife with his DNA on it, with Mensah later messaging Reeves to say: “L9 [Rose’s nickname] left his Rambo at the scene.”
Afterwards, Mensah messaged Earl: “Bro there was bare smoke … You saw it on Face Time.” Later, he added: “Bro lol it’s on the news … we dun damagees [sic].”
Another man, Paul English, 61, was cleared of aggravated arson.
Ashton Evans, 20, was found guilty of failing to disclose information about terrorist acts relating to the Mayfair plot but cleared of failing to tell authorities about the warehouse arson.
Dmitrijus Paulauskas, 23, also from Croydon, was cleared of two similar offences relating to both terrorist plots after the jury deliberated for nearly 22 hours.
Money issues: some of the messages exchanged between group members over pyaments
The prosecutor, Duncan Penny KC, said that while the arsonists had been motivated by the promise of money, Earl and Reeves had orchestrated it for Russia.
Earl had told a Wagner Group operative he met on Telegram he was keen to carry out a series of “missions”, of which the Leyton fire was to be just the first. Reeves was also prepared to accept money from a foreign intelligence service to target the Russian dissident and his London-based businesses next, the jury was told.
Earl admitted preparing to set fire to the Hide Restaurant and Hedonism Wines in Mayfair, west London, and to kidnap Chichvarkin, on behalf of the Wagner Group, and “exiling him back to Russia to face prison”.
The court was told the two Mayfair businesses targeted by the Wagner Group collectively employed 200 people and were valued at more than £30million.
Chichvarkin was described as a “high-profile Russian dissident and refugee” who has been vocal in his criticism of Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine.
Earl’s Wagner Group contact, known as Privet Bot, instructed him to watch the period drama The Americans and use it as a “manual” for his covert mission.
He was arrested in a B&Q car park in Leicestershire, and videos of the warehouse fire were found on his iPhone.
In a search of his home in Elmesthorpe, police recovered a Russian flag, more than £20,000 in cash and cocaine hydrochloride with a street value of some £34,000.
After Reeves’s arrest at East Croydon Station, police uncovered videos on his phone that were taken by Mensah on the night of the arson attack.
Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said; “This case is clear example of an organisation linked to the Russian state using ‘proxies’ – in this case British men – to carry out very serious criminal activity in this country on their behalf.
East Croydon arrest: Jake Reeves was a gang leader
“The ringleaders – Earl and Reeves – willingly acted as hostile agents on behalf of the Russian state. I am pleased that, working closely with the Crown Prosecution Service, we were able to use the new National Security Act legislation, which meant the severity of Earl and Reeves’s offending was reflected in the charges they faced.
“The warehouse arson put members of the public at great risk, and it was only by good fortune nobody was seriously injured or worse.
“Those involved showed little or no regard for the potential impact of their actions on the UK’s wider security. Seemingly motivated by the promise of money, they were prepared to commit criminal acts on behalf of Russia.
“I hope these convictions send a strong warning of the very serious consequences of committing offences on behalf of a foreign country.”
The Russian connection was only made after Met officers in Waltham Forest became aware that another warehouse belonging to the same Ukrainian company was also subject to an arson attack in Madrid. It was then that the Counter Terrorism Command was called in.
Convicted: Dylan Earl was told to use The Americans as his manual for arson
Earl’s Telegram messages showed that the first person he recruited for the warehouse arson plot was Reeves, who then recruited his friend Mensah, who then encouraged Rose and Asmena to take part.
Rose had previously pleaded guilty to having a bladed article in a public place (in relation to a knife he left at the scene in Leyton). Evans also previously pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply Class A drugs.
In November, Earl pleaded guilty to preparatory conduct, contrary to Section 18 of the National Security Act 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), National Security Act 2023, and aggravated arson.
The Old Bailey judge, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb, said the convicted defendants would be sentenced on a date to be fixed in the autumn.
British authorities have accused Russia of being behind a number of spy plots and sabotage missions. The Kremlin has denied these accusations, and its embassy in London has rejected any part in the warehouse fire.
Read more: Croydon men arrested connected to Russian spying allegations
Read more: Croydon man pleads guilty in ‘Russian spy ring’ arson case
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