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Three men found guilty of arson attack for Wagner Group

4 hours ago
Three men found guilty of arson attack for Wagner Group
Originally posted by: BBC.com

Source: BBC.com

London Fire Brigade Image shows a fire at an industrial estate in Leyton, LondonLondon Fire Brigade

Damage caused by a fire at an industrial unit in Leyton

Three men have been found guilty of an arson attack on a London warehouse linked to Ukraine on behalf of Russian mercenary group Wagner.

Jakeem Rose, 23, Ugnius Asmena, 20, Nii Mensah, 23, were found guilty at the Old Bailey of being recruited to set fire to the industrial unit which sent aid and internet satellite equipment.

The attack was orchestrated by Dylan Earl, 20, and Jake Reeves, 23, who had already admitted aggravated arson on behalf of the Wagner Group – which the UK government named as a proscribed terrorist group.

Around £1 million-worth of damage was caused in the arson attack on the warehouse in in Leyton, east London, on 20 March last year, the trial at the Old Bailey heard.

A fourth man, Paul English, 61, was found not guilty of being recruited to set fire to the warehouse and obtaining money from a foreign intelligence service.

Mensah and Rose were captured on CCTV and the livestreamed video as they set the warehouse on fire before they made off.

Eight fire engines were called to the Cromwell Industrial Estate after it broke out shortly before midnight on 20 March 2024.

On the night of the attack, the jury heard a lorry driver parked nearby had bravely but unsuccessfully attempted to put out the fire.

Earl is the first person to be convicted under the National Security Act, passed by parliament in 2023, to deal with the increased risk of hostile state activity.

The court heard he used the messaging app Telegram to communicate with the Wagner Group.

A fifth man, Ashton Evans was found guilty on Tuesday of one count of failing to disclose information about terrorist acts, but cleared on another.

A sixth man, Dmitrijus Paulauskas was found not guilty of failing to disclose information about terrorist acts.


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