Russia’s attack on London: the arson at this Leyton warehouse last year was linked to Russian mercenaries, the Wagner Group
Four men from Croydon who were part of a Russian “spy ring” which caused £1.3million-worth of damage to a Ukrainian-owned warehouse in London last year have been handed sentences which will see them jointly spend almost 40 years in jail.
One of them, Jake Reeves, 23, was described by the police as one of the ring-leaders.
Reeves pleaded guilty to aggravated arson and to agreeing to accept a material benefit from a foreign intelligence service, contrary to Section 17(2) and (11) of the National Security Act 2023, is one of the first two to be prosecuted using the Act for activity linked to a foreign state.
Two units in an industrial estate in Leyton, containing supplies for Ukraine, were deliberately set alight on March 20 last year.
Ring-leader: Jake Reeves
Reeves and a Leicester man, Dylan Earl, were convicted after an investigation by counter-terrorism police showed that they had established contact with the Wagner Group, the Russian mercenary group. Reeves and Earl worked together to recruit a small team, which included Nii Mensah, from Thornton Heath, Jakeem Rose, from Croydon, and Ugnius Asmena.
The fire was initially investigated by local Met officers in Waltham Forest.
But when they became aware that another warehouse belonging to the same Ukrainian company in Madrid had also been targeted for arson, the Counter Terrorism Command took over the investigation.
Earl was the first to be arrested, in a B&Q car park in Hinckley, Leicestershire, on April 10 last year. His mobile phone was full of emails, photos and videos, and contained messages with the Wagner Group on Telegram, some in Russian, via an account with the usernames “Privet Bot” and “Lucky Strike”.
Guilty: Nii Mensah was sentenced to 10 years
When making the arrest and seizing the phone, the police realised that the gang was plotting its next attack, this time on the Mayfair premises of an outspoken anti-Putin Russian emigré.
The investigation team established that three men – Mensah, Rose and Asmena – met up on the evening of March 20 2024 and travelled in a red Kia Picanto to Leyton.
Mensah filmed the warehouse being set alight and livestreamed it on Face Time to Earl and Reeves.
Yesterday at the Old Bailey, they were sentenced as follows:
- Earl –23 years, including 17 years in custody
- Reeves – 13 years, including 12 years in custody
- Mensah – 10 years, including nine years in custody
- Rose – nine years including eight years in custody
- Asmena – eight years, including seven years in custody
- Evans – 10 years, including nine years in custody
They had been convicted as follows:
Guilty: Jakeem Rose was given nine years
Mensah , 23, Rose, 23, and Asmena, 21, were convicted of aggravated arson.
Ashton Evans 20, of Newport, Gwent, was found guilty of one count of failing to disclose information about terrorist acts.
Rose 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). Evans also previously pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply Class A drugs.
Earl, 21, of Elmesthorpe, Leicester, 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.
The BBC reported that Companies House records show that the companies based at the warehouse are Oddisey and Meest UK, both parcel delivery firms, owned by Mykhaylo Prykhodko, also known as Mikhail Boikov, and his wife Jelena Boikova, who both live in London.
Guilty: Ugnius Asemena was another member of the gang
Commander Dominic Murphy, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, 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.
“The ring-leaders – Earl and Reeves – acted willingly 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.
“In recent years, we have seen a significant increase in the number of counter-state-threat investigations and the use of ‘proxies’ is a new tactic favoured by hostile states such as Russia.
“For anyone tempted to carry out similar criminal activity, either for payment or ideological reasons, the long prison sentences in this case should act as a stark warning on the serious consequences of committing offences on behalf of a foreign country.”
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