Latest news with #Leyton
BBC News
6 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Stoke goalkeeper Simkin joins Orient on loan
Leyton Orient have signed goalkeeper Tommy Simkin on a season-long loan from Championship club Stoke 20, spent last season on loan at Walsall, making 47 appearances in all competitions, including the League Two play-off final defeat by AFC was also part of England's victorious under-21 European Championships joined Stoke as a youngster, Simkin has also had loan spells with Fylde, Forest Green Rovers and Solihull Moors."I'm buzzing to be here at this club," Simkin said. "Leyton Orient have got a great record of developing young players in every position and I'm excited to get started."I'm going to give it everything I have got whilst I'm here and I have got that fire in my belly to be successful."Losing at Wembley last season (with Walsall) was a terrible feeling and that has just motivated me even more to be successful in the rest of my career."
Daily Mail
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
The British youths and gangsters being groomed by Russian mercenaries to turn saboteurs - but could face a gruesome end should they change their mind
Scrambling out of a crammed Kia Picanto, two hooded men slink through the darkness towards a warehouse with one goal in mind: to burn it to the ground. After dousing the front of industrial unit with petrol, one of the thugs lobs a lit rag on the building's fuel-soaked door. As the pair of firebombers sprint off into the gloom, a sudden flash of flame is caught in grainy CCTV camera footage as a roaring blaze starts to engulf the property. The inferno that ripped through units 1 and 2 of the Cromwell Industrial Estate in Leyton, east London, caused £1million of damage - and wrote off £100,000 of aid destined for war-torn Ukraine. However, the culprits weren't just arsonists. They were instead a deluded gaggle of Britons recruited as guns for hire by Russia's ruthless Wagner mercenary group. Wagner is infamous for its heavy involvement in the invasion of Ukraine as well as carrying out military campaigns on behalf of Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin in Mali, the Middle East and South America. The paramilitary cult's ranks allegedly include convicted murderers, rapists and gangsters - as well as ex-military personnel. They have a fearsome reputation for carrying out sickening atrocities in warzones, from rape to murder. Last month the group was accused of kidnapping and torturing hundreds of civilians in Mali, which allegedly includes some refugees staying at former UN bases and camps shared with the country's army. And the collective of bloodthirsty goons are equally as merciless to their own - executing 'traitors' in some of the most twisted ways possible. One man had his head caved in with a sledgehammer after being caught trying to switch sides in Ukraine. 'A dog receives a dog's death,' Wagner's old warlord commander-in-chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, drawled when asked about the execution. Prigozhin, a former close ally of Vladimir Putin, was killed less than a year later when his plane crashed after leading a failed revolt against Putin. It's suspected the Kremlin ordered his execution. Now the group's tendrils appear to be spreading into the UK, as part of a drive to lure British youths into betraying their country for cash and notoriety. Increasingly, Wagner is turning to social media messaging apps such as Telegram to seek out hapless gangsters across Europe to join its ranks - and carrying out proxy missions, thought to be under the orders of military chiefs in the Kremlin or from Putin's elite spy brigade, the GRU. Professor Bart Schuurman at the University of Leiden, has chillingly claimed Russian operations, including sabotage, influence, vandalism and assassination attempts, have crept up, from 11 in 2022 to 23 in 2023 and 64 in 2024. On Tuesday, Nii Kojo Mensah, Jakeem Rose and Ugnius Asmena, were the latest to be found to have been recruited by Wagner. They were convicted of committing aggravated arson on the warehouse. They had been roped into sabotaging the property - which contained vital satellite kit from billionaire tech guru Elon Musk's Starlink communications firm destined for Ukraine - by 'ringleader' Dylan Earl. Earl, a bungling part-time drug dealer was recruited into the ruthless cartel of mercenaries after approaching the group over Telegram. The 20-year-old, who boasted of being 'the best spy you have ever seen', was enthralled by the prospect of giving up his life living at home with his parents. From his bedroom in the tiny village of Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire, the Putin fan who could barely speak 30 words of Russian, managed to assemble a motley crew of Britons to torch the London warehouse causing £1million of damage, destroying generators and vital Starlink satellite equipment destined for Ukraine. The young builder and cocaine dealer was given the codename of 'SAS' and billed as Wagner's 'dagger in Europe' after Earl told the terror group of his grand plans to do 'something big' for the Kremlin, boasting he could build a 'link' between the Wagner Group, IRA and notorious Kinahan crime cartel. But the hapless arsonists Earl hired, who ranged from criminals to a cleaner, did such a bad job on March 20 last year that the Russians refused to pay them, saying the arson attack was not up to Wagner's 'standards'. His henchmen, Mensah, 23, Rose, 23, and Asmena, 20, failed to properly capture a full video of the burning warehouse after fleeing in a Kia Picanto which had to be 'bump started' with a set of pliers to turn the ignition key. They were forced to return to the scene just to livestream it for the Russians, which resulted in the gang being captured on CCTV and Rose also dropped a knife with his DNA on it before fire crews arrived to bring the blaze under control. But in a chilling illustration of Russia's appetite for inflicting chaos in the UK, despite the attack not matching Earl's lofty promises, Wagner operatives were prepared to send him on an even bigger mission to kidnap billionaire Russian dissident Evgeny Chichvarkin. When police swooped last April, Earl was preparing to firebomb his Mayfair restaurant and wine shop worth £30million. Commander Dominic Murphy, the head of the Met's Counter Terrorism Command said the astonishing case showed how Russia was prepared to buy criminal proxies to carry out their dirty work in the UK. Earl was the first person to be convicted under the new National Security Act last year after police uncovered messages revealing how the drug dealer, who kept a Russian flag in his room, contacted a Telegram channel known as a mouthpiece for Wagner. His second in command, Jake Reeves, also pleaded guilty to agreeing to accept a material benefit from a foreign intelligence service under the National Security Act 2023. And on Tuesday, Mensah, Rose, and Asmena were all convicted by a jury for their part in the firebombing. All five men now face prison. During the court case, jurors heard how Earl had a passion to get involved with the rag-tag group of Russian mercenaries - notorious for their brutal tactics overseas. 'I [have] been wanting to come Russia. I need a fresh start bro,' Earl said. 'Do I need to be able to speak Russian though because that's not the best? Literally know 30 words, if that.' A Wagner automated chatbot called 'Privet' - or 'hello' in Russian - responded: 'Hello friend. How are you? We would like you to help us in Europe. What can you do in Europe, what actions? We need those who are our kindred spirit.' Gang members Jakeem Barrington Rose, 23 (left) and Nii Kojo Mensah, 23, were also part of the group. They were convicted on Tuesday Earl was instructed to watch a Cold War drama about KGB spies as a 'manual', using The Americans TV series about KGB agents undercover in the US as an aid to help him organise 'partisan cells' in the UK. Earl, whose online name was John Wick's nickname, Baba Yaga, from the hit movies starring Keanu Reeves, bragged: 'If you need connections with IRA, I can sort it. 'You want criminal connections with murderers, kidnappers, soldiers, drug dealers, fraudsters, car thieves- I can sort it all.' He promised, 'I know I can be the best spy you have ever seen', saying he had 'hundreds of people who respect me and do everything I ask of them'. Excitedly, he told the Russians: 'I can bring you great power and connections…I can get integrated with political connections and criminal figures of the highest level in Europe and South America…I am offering you everything: ways to make tens of millions of pounds, doing any country, all fires etc, spy operations in my country against individuals, business, government… I can provide you with hundreds of soldiers and access to big criminal organisations. Everything you want.' Earl pleaded guilty to preparing conduct for acts which endangered life on behalf of a foreign power before the four-week trial at London's Old Bailey began. During the court hearing, jurors heard how Earl had used the nickname 'Baba Yaga' on Telegram - a reference to the nickname for John Wick - a fictional hitman used by Russian and American gangs portrayed by Hollywood A-lister Keanu Reeves. Earl had started to follow a group on the encrypted messaging app, Telegram, called 'Grey Zone' - a pro-Russian account used by Wagner to recruit new henchmen. It has some 500,000 members and regularly shares Kremlin propaganda and job opportunities for wannabe mercenaries. The app, popular across Russian-speaking countries and former Soviet Union states, has been critical to Wagner's efforts to launch a shadow war of sabotage across the continent. It's been linked to helping organise attacks across Europe. During three days in July 2024, packages - all sent from Lithuania - were detonated in Birmingham, Leipzig in eastern Germany and Warsaw, Poland. Polish authorities say members behind the plot were reportedly head-hunted by a GRU handler, Colonel Denis Smolyanino, through a Russian-language Telegram account used by Ukrainian refugees Officials from Poland's security service have linked a plot to firebomb a warehouse in Wroclaw, in July, as well as the arson attack on Warsaw's 44 shopping centre in May, which obliterated more than 1,400 small businesses. A probe by Polish officials tabled the blame squarely at the feet of 'Russian special services' who they accused of 'ordering' the mayhem after recruiting people on Telegram. Throughout 2023 and 2024, at least eight adverts were shared on Grey Zone, calling for volunteers to join cells across Europe to fight in the battle against countries supporting Ukraine's fight against Russian invaders, reported The Times. According to the paper, the most recent advert posted in June of last year, said the Wagner group was looking to ramp up its operations across Africa and provided four numbers for hopeful recruits to call. Hailing the position as the 'best job in the world', the advert said it would give people the 'right to defend Russia's interests abroad' while also giving them the chance to 'get a healthy tan'. It was something that enticed Earl. After being put in touch with a handler, he was later given orders to carry out an in-depth reconnaissance on the warehouses which the group claimed was being used to aid 'Ukrainian terrorists'. The warehouses were owned by British-Ukrainian businessman Mikhail Boikov and were used to store aid for Kyiv - as well as Starlink equipment, which could be used to help frontline troops to communicate with each other through Elon Musk's network of space satellites. Earl went about hiring his team of covert saboteurs, with the promise of £1,000 once they carried out their mission. But they were hardly soldiers. Jake Reeves, 23, from Croydon, was working as a Gatwick aircraft cleaner and volunteering for criminal jobs on a Telegram group after failing his GCSEs and becoming obsessed with the gangster lifestyle portrayed on the game Grand Theft Auto. Reeves brought in his former college friends, Rose, who already had criminal convictions and Mensah. Asmena, a Lithuanian living with his drug-addicted mother in a squat in Roehampton, South London also volunteered. On Tuesday Rose, Mensah and Asmena were convicted of aggravated arson after an Old Bailey trial. Reeves pleaded guilty at a previous hearing to the same offence and agreeing to accept money from a foreign intelligence service. All five men now face the prospect of being jailed when they are sentenced at a later date. Commander Dominic Murphy, the head of the Met's Counter Terrorism Command slammed the group for joining a Wagner plot. He aid 'the ringleaders - Earl and Reeves - willingly acted as hostile agents on behalf of the Russian state'. '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.' he added. The Government insists the National Security Act 2023 is making the UK an even harder target for 'hostile states' like Russia to target. It includes a new set of offences, measures and investigatory powers, which are used to clampdown. In April, Security Minister Dan Jarvis announced Russia would be placed on the enhanced tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme, meaning anyone working for the Russian state in the UK will need to declare what they are doing or risk committing an offence under the National Security Act 2023. Speaking after the sentencing of Earl's group of mercenaries, Mr Jarvis added: 'Another proxy group acting for Russia has been brought to justice, thanks to the work of our criminal justice system. 'National security is the foundation of our Plan for Change, and these convictions should serve as a clear warning to those seeking to undermine our national security or the safety of the UK.
Sky News
08-07-2025
- Sky News
Three men found guilty of arson attack for Russian mercenaries on Ukraine-linked warehouse in London
Three men have been found guilty of an arson attack on a London warehouse linked to Ukraine on behalf of the terrorist Wagner Group. Around £1m of damage was caused by the blaze at an industrial unit in Leyton, east London, that was supplying StarLink satellite equipment to Ukraine, a court heard. The StarLinks are often used by the Ukrainian military in its fight against Russia following the full-scale invasion by President Vladimir Putin's forces which started in February 2022. Nii Mensah, 23, Jakeem Rose, 23, and Ugnius Asmena, 20, were convicted of aggravated arson with intent to endanger life following an Old Bailey trial. Paul English, 61, was cleared of the same charge. The attack at the Cromwell industrial estate on 20 March last year was orchestrated by 20-year-old Dylan Earl - who was recruited by the Wagner Group - and Jake Reeves, 23, the trial previously heard. The group of Russian mercenaries effectively acts as a private army for the state. Reeves, of Croydon, pleaded guilty to agreeing to accept a material benefit from a foreign intelligence service under the National Security Act 2023. Earl, of Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire, pleaded guilty to aggravated arson and preparatory conduct under the National Security Act 2023. It was alleged they recruited a group of men to carry out the attack as part of a series of planned missions for the terrorist group. The court was previously told the pair had gone on to plot more arson attacks on a restaurant and wine shop in Mayfair and the kidnap of their multi-millionaire owner Evgeny Chichvarkin, who was a Russian dissident. Warehouse arson attack was livestreamed The Metropolitan Police said an analysis of Earl's Telegram messages showed the first person he recruited for the warehouse arson plot was Reeves, who then recruited his friend Mensah to carry out the attack. In turn, Mensah recruited his friend Rose. Asmena was also recruited to take part. Mensah, Rose and Asmena met up on the evening of 20 March 2024 and travelled in a red Kia Picanto to the scene of the arson. Officers found evidence that Mensah filmed the warehouse being set alight and livestreamed it on FaceTime to Earl and Reeves. The video was recovered by police. A knife found at the scene was linked to Rose through DNA analysis. The case is the first concerning allegations under the UK's new counter-espionage laws. Prosecutor Duncan Penny said Earl was "knowingly acting at the behest of the Wagner Group", banned as a terrorist organisation, and "knew he was acting against Ukrainian, and for Russian interests". It was 'only by good fortune nobody was seriously injured' Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met's Counter Terrorism Command, said: "This case is a 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." He said that the ringleaders Earl and Reeves "willingly acted as hostile agents on behalf of the Russian state". And he added that it was "only by good fortune nobody was seriously injured or worse". The Crown Prosecution Service called the convictions a "significant moment" and they "send a very clear message that this type of offending will not be tolerated on UK soil". The Russian embassy in London has rejected any part in the warehouse fire, saying the British government repeatedly blames Russia for anything "bad" that happens in the UK. 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. The convicted defendants will be sentenced at the Old Bailey at a later date.
The Guardian
08-07-2025
- The Guardian
CCTV shows Wagner Group arson attack on London warehouse
CCTV footage released by the Metropolitan police shows arsonists setting fire to a warehouse in Leyton, east London, in March 2024. The attack on the building, which held supplies destined for Ukraine, was ordered by the Wagner Group, a Russian terrorist organisation. Five men have been convicted for their involvement
Daily Mail
08-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Moment British gang backed by Russian terrorists Wagner Group film themselves setting fire to London warehouse in bid to destroy vital equipment bound for Ukraine
This is the moment a gang of British men recruited as guns for hire by Russia's Wagner mercenary group firebombed a warehouse as part of a chilling sabotage campaign. Nii Kojo Mensah, 23, Jakeem Barrington Rose, 23, and Ugnius Asmena, 20, were today convicted over the arson attack in Leyton, east London that caused £1million of damage. The building was razed to the ground, destroying more than £100,000 worth of equipment inside, including vital satellite kit belonging to Elon Musk 's Starlink communications company, which was destined for Ukraine. The 'architect' of the plot was Dylan Earl, 21, a builder and part-time drug dealer who lived with his parents in a detached house in the Leicestershire countryside. He and Jake Reeves, 23, were paid to destroy equipment before recruiting the other men. Earl and Reeves previously admitted aggravated arson and an offence under the National Security Act. Earl boasted he could build a 'link' between the Wagner Group, IRA and the Irish Kinahan crime cartel. The warehouse attack on March 20 last year was livestreamed to by the gang to the men's British recruiter who was reporting back to the Russians. He set the video to music as he shared it with his friends. CCTV footage of the firebombing, shown during the court hearing at the Old Bailey, shows Rose and Mensah getting out of the vehicle, climbing over a wall and approaching the warehouses. The blaze is then ignited at the warehouse, with flames building in the footage as the pair flee. As they ran away from 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'. Surviellance footage even captures the moment a passing lorry driver's futile attempt to extinguish the inferno. Ultimately, it took eight fire crews, composed of 60 firefighters, to get the blaze under control. The fire caused £1million of damage and ruined more than £100,000 of equipment destined for Ukraine. 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).' As well as the warehouse arson, the group were then tasked to burn down an exclusive restaurant and wine dealership in Mayfair and to kidnap the billionaire owner, a Russian dissident who has driven lorries carrying aid to Ukraine. Evgeny Chichvarkin told police he had made his money by co-founding a mobile phone business in Russia before becoming an 'enemy of the state' after speaking out against the regime. Paul English, 61, denied and was cleared of aggravated arson. Welsh drug dealer Ashton Evans, 20, was convicted of one count of failure to disclose information to police about terrorist acts but was cleared of a second count after denying the charge. Earl was the mastermind of the plot. He joined a Telegram 'broadcast channel' called Grey Zone which was established in 2022 as a mouthpiece for Wagner Group. It had 500,000 members and published regular posts inviting people in European countries to join Russia's fight in Ukraine. On March 2 last year Earl told a Telegram contact called 'Minsk KGB', who was in Russia: 'I been wanting to come Russia. I need a fresh start bro. 'Do I need to be able to speak Russian though because that's not the best? Litch [literally] know 30 words if that.' On March 15, Earl was questioned by what appeared to be a Wagner automated chatbot using the name 'Privet Bot' which messaged in Russian, that Earl then put through online translation. The bot messaged: 'Hello friend. How are you? We would like you to help us in Europe. What can you do in Europe, what actions? We need those who are our kindred spirit.' Later it added: 'By the way we have our first task for you. The maps show that there are a few buildings at this address, there are warehouses among them. We'll start with something simple - from simple to complicated.' On March 19 at 6.21pm, the Privet Bot contact added: 'Will you please see the serial Americans,' adding: 'It will be your manual.' Gang members Jakeem Barrington Rose, 23 (left) and Nii Kojo Mensah, 23, have both been convicted today The series was an American spy drama set in the Cold War about two Soviet KGB intelligence officers in Washington and the next day, the messager added: 'The idea is like that. You need to organise partisan cells in the country and in Europe and think of a name for your movement.' On the evening of March 20 last year, just three weeks after the first contact, Earl recruited four men who set fire to a warehouse on the Cromwell Industrial Estate in Leyton, East London. Jake Reeves, 23, from Croydon, South London, was the step-son of a police officer who failed most his GCSEs and was working as an aircraft cleaner at Gatwick. He became obsessed with the gangster video role-play game Grand Theft Auto and began volunteering for criminal jobs on a Telegram group chat called Violent Wettings - slang for stabbings. Reeves then subcontracted the job again to Jakeem Rose and Nii Kojo Mensah, both aged 23, from Thornton Heath, South London, his former college mates. Mensah's cousin was apparently a member of STK, a south London gang and drill rap group that had hundreds of thousands of views for their music. At 4.14pm on March 20, Reeves messaged Earl saying: 'Yhh mums [honestly] it'll get done if you're serious bro.' Twelve minutes later, he added: 'My guys on it.' Ugnius Asmena, 20, a Lithuanian-born man who was living with his drug addicted mother in a squat in Roehampton, South London, volunteered to find the driver, recruiting Paul English, 61, who lived in a flat across the road, offering him £500. By 10pm that evening English and Asmena were driving from Roehampton, south west London, to Mensah's address and from there, north to Leyton. English used a red Kia Picanto that had to be bump started and had a set of pliers to turn the ignition key but it was registered in his own name and it took police a matter of days to track him down and from there establish the identity of the rest of the arson cell. However, the arsonists, who were promised thousands of pounds, forgot to film the warehouse burning down and were never paid for the attack. Earl was scolded by the Russians for not telling them he was going ahead with the plan: 'The next fire has to be definitely approved and you have to say in advance the place and the time.' In the end they never approved the Mayfair plot prompting Earl to tell them on April 9: 'I know I can be the best spy you have ever seen. Everything you want in my country I will do immediately.' Earl admitted that 'in my country they call us terrorists'' but added 'I know that is not true' and promised '1000s of men available in Europe.' He was arrested the next day in the car park of a B and Q home improvement store in Hinckley, Leicestershire. Duncan Penny KC, prosecuting, said the four men in court 'may have been ignorant' of the Russians' influence and their motive 'may have been good old-fashioned greed.' 'For others, however, it appears to have been both political and ideological,' he added. Earl pleaded guilty to aggravated arson and preparing an act under the National Security Act and Reeves pleaded guilty to aggravated arson and agreeing to accept money from a foreign intelligence service. Three of the men who went to the warehouse denied aggravated arson but were found guilty after a month-long trial. English was acquitted after telling police he thought they needed the petrol to pick up a car or a motorbike. Ashton Evans, 20, an IT student and part-time drug dealer from Newport, Gwent, was found guilty of failing to disclose information about terrorist acts after Earl attempted to recruit him for the Mayfair attack. Dmitrijus Paulauskas, 22, a Lithuanian-born university student from Croydon who admitted supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine, was acquitted of failing to inform after telling the jury he thought Reeves, a schoolfriend, was a fantasist. Earl and Evans also pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to supply. When police raided Earl's home they found £20,070 in cash, a screenshot on his phone showing £58,425 in cryptocurrency in a Ledger Nano wallet and 885 grams of cocaine in five wholesale deals with a street value of £34,220. At Earl's home they discovered £1,500 in cash wrapped in a £50 note and concealed in a cushion in his bed along with 22 snap seals bags containing 8.26 grammes of cocaine at 20 per cent purity with a street value of up to £550. CCTV caught Jakeem Rose and Kojo Mensah as they climbed over a wall and into the Cromwell Industrial Estate in Leyton, East London at about 11.40pm, on the evening of March 20 last year. Their target was the base for a parcel delivery company and a logistics firm which were delivering goods to Eastern Europe and former Soviet countries, including Ukraine. The businesses were also involved in organising humanitarian aid efforts to support Ukraine. Unit 1 was occupied by a company called Oddisey Ltd. Oddisey Ltd, which receives and delivers packages ordered by customers mainly based in post-Soviet countries, owned by Mikhail Boikov and Jelena Boikova. It handled, stored and delivered to Ukraine numerous packages containing Starlink satellite devices and generators. Unit 2 was occupied by a company called Meest UK Ltd, the UK arm of a Ukrainian-based shipping company, of which Mikhail Boikov was a director. Meest UK Ltd received between two and four pallets of goods per day and each pallet would contain 20 to 30 Starlink devices - a total of up to 120 a day. A lorry carrying goods for Ukraine would leave the warehouses once or twice a week, each containing between 1,500 and 1,800 parcels. Rose recorded clips of the journey to the warehouse in English's car which were later found on his phone CCTV showed him pouring petrol around the outside of the warehouse and using a rag to light it, filmed by Mensah, who was feeding the footage back to Dylan Earl. The men then ran back to the wall and used a wheeled bin to climb back over, where they were picked up by English and Asminah. However, Rose had left his 'Rambo' knife, with his DNA on it, on the ground near the wall which he had jumped over with Mensah. Yevhen Harasym was watching a film in the cab of his lorry, parked next to the warehouse, with the curtains drawn. He suddenly became aware of flames licking up the building next to the vehicle and leapt out of the cab, grabbing a fire extinguisher from a compartment underneath the lorry, in a desperate effort to put out the fire before it burned down the whole warehouse. Eight fire engines and 60 firefighters were required to attend the scene. Over £100,000 worth of damage was done to goods and more than £1m in damage to the buildings. Around 50 per cent of the stock stored in Units 1 and 2 was destroyed in the fire. The warehouse was just yards from an apartment block and domestic houses, causing prosecutors to claim the defendants were reckless in putting lives at risk, despite admissions of arson. The second target - Hide restaurant and Hedonism wine dealers - employ 200 people and are valued in excess of £30 million. There is residential accommodation above both premises, the court was told. Kaiyan Oliveira, who used the online name NazioMusic, was caught on CCTV as he conducted surveillance on the targets on the evening of March 25. Mensah and Rose forgot to take a video as proof of the attack and were asked to go back. Reeves, who was using the name 'Vex', messaged Asmena who was in the front passenger seat of the Kia Picanto: 'They need vid to get paid.' Asmena replied: 'They want us to go back.' 'To the warehouse?' Reeves asked. 'Yes,' Asmena said Reeves said: 'WTF. Go G. Quick G. They need vid.' However, Asmena told him: 'It's on fire. Moms [honestly] they did it, they forgot to record. It will be on the news.' A few hours after the attack Mensah messaged Earl to say 'Bro lol [laughs out loud]. It's on the news. Read article bro. We dun damageee.' However, the Russians never paid the full amount and the next day Mensah messaged Earl: 'Bro it's f**king burnt. We did some damage. U said u will pay on consider damage. Just be reasonable.' Mensah also discussed the warehouse attack with Reeves saying: 'Bro if anyone getting arrested first it will be the old man and his boy. Bro he went out his car to buy petrol in a jerry can, paid for it plus drove to the scene, it a legit car. He's involved no matter what.' On March 24 as Earl sought recruits for the next attack in central London, he told Reeves: 'I have two jobs for them after, where they will make 4-6k per one for way easier jobs than this' he added: 'London: £1000 East Warehouse £5000 West Wine Shop £5000 West Restaurant Total £11000.' Earl told him: 'Trust bro, western mind is confused dk wag1 [don't know what's going on]. Ukraine been shelling pro Russian towns since 014. Azov u can Google, Ukrainian neo-Nazi army brigade.' On March 30 Reeves referred to 'boom' for '5k' - said to be a reference to an explosion - and 'napping' for '50k' - said to be a reference to kidnapping the dissident. On April 3, Reeves messaged Mensah: 'YK [you know] anyone that will do this in Mayfair to a wine shop 5k upfront, 20-30k payout but me n u take a cut.' He sent a video of an arson attack and added: 'But has to be done like that.' Mensah told him: 'Bro that's tapped [crazy]. I'll ask about.' Reeves replied: 'Sweet bro.' Speaking on Tuesday after the latest members of the gang were convicted, David Cawthorne, unit head of the Crown Prosecution Service's counter-terrorism division, 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. 'The arson, on behalf of the Wagner Group, a private military contractor intimately connected to the Russian state, was orchestrated by Dylan Earl and Jake Reeves - who recruited others. 'The fire caused large-scale damage and risked the lives of those in and around the area, as well as those whose public duty meant that they needed to attend the fire. 'These convictions send a very clear message that this type of offending will not be tolerated on UK soil.'
