London 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 aggravated arson with intent to endanger life after the blaze at the unit which sent aid and internet satellite equipment to Ukraine.
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 attack on the warehouse in east London, last year, the Old Bailey heard.
A fourth man, Paul English, 61, was cleared of wrongdoing.
Mensah and Rose were captured on CCTV and the livestream video as they set the warehouse on fire.
Eight fire engines were called to the Cromwell Industrial Estate in Leyton 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 of offences 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 of failing to tell authorities about the warehouse arson.
A sixth man, Dmitrijus Paulauskas was found not guilty of failing to disclose information about terrorist acts.
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