Shocking CCTV footage captured the moment arsonists working for the terrorist Wagner Group, lit and ran from a fire in east London.
Three men have been found guilty of an arson attack on a warehouse linked to Ukraine on behalf of following a groundbreaking trial. About £1 million of damage was caused by the blaze at an industrial unit in Leyton, last March 20, the Old Bailey was told.
Nii Mensah, 23, had livestreamed on/latest/russia his phone as he and Jakeem Rose, 23, set fire to the building while fixer Ugnius Asmena, 20, waited in a car, jurors heard. The court was then shown a video of Rose and Mensah getting out of the vehicle, climbing over a wall and approaching the warehouses, jurors heard.
As they fled the scene, Rose dropped a very large knife with his DNA on it, with Mensah later messaging Reeves to say "L9 (Rose's nickname) left his Rambo at the scene".
It took eight fire crews, composed of 60 firefighters, to get the blaze under control. 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)."
The attack was orchestrated by Dylan Earl, 20, with Gatwick airport cleaner Jake Reeves, 23, who had 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 the kidnap of the owner, the wealth Russian dissident Evgeny Chichvarkin.
Earl and Reeves had admitted aggravated arson on behalf of the Wagner Group and were the first to be convicted of offences under the National Security Act 2023, jurors heard.
Earl had also admitted possessing cocaine and thousands of pounds in criminal cash.
Following an Old Bailey trial, Mensah, Rose, and Asmena were found guilty of aggravated arson with intent to endanger life.
The case is the first to result in convictions of British criminals acting as proxies for the proscribed Wagner Group.
Driver Paul English, 61, was cleared of wrongdoing.
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.
Dmirjus Paulauskas, 23, was cleared of two similar offences relating to both terrorist plots after the jury deliberated for nearly 22 hours.
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.
"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."
David Cawthorne, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "The National Security Act 2023 enhances the powers of the Crown Prosecution Service and law enforcement agencies to tackle the evolving threat of hostile states operating in the UK. It is clear that this was a targeted attack given the connection the warehouse had to Ukraine in shipping aid and other goods.
"These convictions send a very clear message that this type of offending will not be tolerated on UK soil."
Jurors had heard "overwhelming" evidence linking the arsonists to the warehouse attack. They were tracked by phone data and traffic cameras as Mr English drove them in his Kia Picanto through south London and the scene of the fire, which was covered by CCTV.
Prosecutor Duncan Penny KC said that while the arsonists were motivated by the promise of money, Earl and Reeves had orchestrated it for Russia. Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said the convicted defendants would be sentenced on a date to be fixed in the autumn.
