Latest news with #Ukraine-linked
Sunday World
3 days ago
- Sunday World
Dealer who wanted to link Kinahans, IRA and Russia found guilty of warehouse attack
Dylan Earl orchestrated the arson attack on the Ukraine-linked facility on the orders of Russia's terrorist Wagner Group A 20-year-old drug dealer who had grand ambitions to 'build a link' between the IRA, the Kinahan Cartel and Russia, has been found guilty for his role in the burning down of a warehouse in London. Dylan Earl orchestrated the arson attack along with Gatwick airport cleaner Jake Reeves (23) on the Ukraine-linked facility on the orders of Russia's terrorist Wagner Group. Three men who acted as 'proxies' for Vladimir Putin's regime Ugnius Asmena, Nii Mensah and Jakeem Rose were tracked down after they set two units on fire in east London on March 20 last year. Apparently motivated by the lure of cash, Mensah (23) livestreamed on his phone as he and Rose (also 23) set fire to the industrial unit. Jake Reeves Meanwhile, a trial at the Old Bailey was told how fixer Asmena (20) waited in a car nearby as the warehouse in Leyton was targeted as it was being used to supply humanitarian aid and StarLink satellite equipment to Ukraine. Earl and Reeves who had previously admitted aggravated arson on behalf of the terror group have become the first defendants to be convicted of acting as proxies for Wagner under the National Security Act 2023. Earl who has also admitted possessing cocaine and thousands of pounds in criminal cash had been plotting to kidnap the establishment's owner, the wealthy Russian dissident Evgeny Chichvarkin. Mensah, Rose and Asmena have been found guilty of aggravated arson with intent to endanger life following an Old Bailey trial. Driver Paul English (61) was cleared of wrongdoing while Ashton Evans (20) was found guilty of failing to disclose information about terrorist acts relating to the Mayfair plot. However, he was cleared of failing to tell authorities about the warehouse arson while Dmirjus Paulauskas (23) was also cleared of two similar offences relating to both terrorist plots. Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command, said the case clearly demonstrated how an organisation linked to the Russian state was 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,' he said. '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 arsonists recorded the attack on their phones Sixty firefighters from eight crews had to get the blaze under control, which had put members of the public 'at great risk' according to Murphy, and it was only by good fortune 'nobody was seriously injured or worse'. The commander added that those involved, 'seemingly motivated by the promise of money, were prepared to commit criminal acts on behalf of Russia'. He said: 'I hope these convictions send a strong warning of the very serious consequences of committing offences on behalf of a foreign country.' Both businesses in the damaged units were Ukrainian-owned. The Met's Counter Terrorism Command took over the investigation when it emerged that another warehouse linked to one of the companies had been subject to an arson attack in Madrid. The court was told how investigators gathered 'overwhelming' evidence linking the arsonists to the Leyton attack. The three arsonists who carried out the attack, Ugnius Asmena, Nii Mensah, and Jakeem Rose As Mr English drove the trio in his Kia Picanto through south London, which was covered by CCTV, they were tracked by phone data and traffic cameras. Rose and Mensah were also seen on footage getting out of the vehicle, and climbing over a wall as they approached the warehouses. Rose dropped a very large knife with his DNA on it, as they fled the scene, while Mensah later messaged Reeves to say he 'left his Rambo at the scene'. Prosecutor Duncan Penny KC said that while the arsonists were motivated by the promise of money, Earl and Reeves had been working on behalf of Russia. Earl had told a Wagner operative he met on Telegram he was keen to carry out a series of 'missions' and admitted preparing to set fire to the Hide Restaurant and Hedonism Wines in Mayfair, west London. He also admitted to the kidnap plot of owner Mr Chichvarkin, described as a 'high-profile Russian dissident and refugee' who has been vocal in his criticism of Putin and the war in Ukraine. Dylan Earl Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 9th Reeves, from Croydon, south London, who was also prepared to accept money from a foreign intelligence service to target the Russian dissident had sent an unknown contact Mr Chichvarkin's name and said he would make an 'amazing target'. Earl's Wagner contact, named Privet Bot, instructed him to watch the period drama The Americans and use it as a 'manual' for his covert mission. Set during the Cold War, the television series is about two KGB agents posing as Americans in Washington DC to spy on the American government. Drug dealer Earl also appeared to brag in further chats with Privet Bot that he had criminal connections and could 'sort' an introduction to the IRA and Kinahan Irish organised crime group. He was arrested in a B&Q car park in Hinckley, Leicestershire, and videos of the warehouse fire being started were found on his iPhone. Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said the convicted defendants would be sentenced on a date to be fixed in the autumn.
Sunday World
3 days ago
- Sunday World
Dealer who wanted to link ‘Kinahans' with Russia found guilty of warehouse arson attack
Dylan Earl orchestrated the arson attack on the Ukraine-linked facility on the orders of Russia's terrorist Wagner Group The three arsonists who carried out the attack, Ugnius Asmena, Nii Mensah, and Jakeem Rose The arsonists recorded the attack on their phones A 20-year-old drug dealer who had grand ambitions to 'build a link' between the IRA, the Kinahan Cartel and Russia, has been found guilty for his role in the burning down of a warehouse in London. Dylan Earl orchestrated the arson attack along with Gatwick airport cleaner Jake Reeves (23) on the Ukraine-linked facility on the orders of Russia's terrorist Wagner Group. Three men who acted as 'proxies' for Vladimir Putin's regime Ugnius Asmena, Nii Mensah and Jakeem Rose were tracked down after they set two units on fire in east London on March 20 last year. Apparently motivated by the lure of cash, Mensah (23) livestreamed on his phone as he and Rose (also 23) set fire to the industrial unit. Jake Reeves Meanwhile, a trial at the Old Bailey was told how fixer Asmena (20) waited in a car nearby as the warehouse in Leyton was targeted as it was being used to supply humanitarian aid and StarLink satellite equipment to Ukraine. Earl and Reeves who had previously admitted aggravated arson on behalf of the terror group have become the first defendants to be convicted of acting as proxies for Wagner under the National Security Act 2023. Earl who has also admitted possessing cocaine and thousands of pounds in criminal cash had been plotting to kidnap the establishment's owner, the wealthy Russian dissident Evgeny Chichvarkin. Mensah, Rose and Asmena have been found guilty of aggravated arson with intent to endanger life following an Old Bailey trial. Driver Paul English (61) was cleared of wrongdoing while Ashton Evans (20) was found guilty of failing to disclose information about terrorist acts relating to the Mayfair plot. However, he was cleared of failing to tell authorities about the warehouse arson while Dmirjus Paulauskas (23) was also cleared of two similar offences relating to both terrorist plots. Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command, said the case clearly demonstrated how an organisation linked to the Russian state was 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,' he said. '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 arsonists recorded the attack on their phones Sixty firefighters from eight crews had to get the blaze under control, which had put members of the public 'at great risk' according to Murphy, and it was only by good fortune 'nobody was seriously injured or worse'. The commander added that those involved, 'seemingly motivated by the promise of money, were prepared to commit criminal acts on behalf of Russia'. He said: 'I hope these convictions send a strong warning of the very serious consequences of committing offences on behalf of a foreign country.' Both businesses in the damaged units were Ukrainian-owned. The Met's Counter Terrorism Command took over the investigation when it emerged that another warehouse linked to one of the companies had been subject to an arson attack in Madrid. The court was told how investigators gathered 'overwhelming' evidence linking the arsonists to the Leyton attack. The three arsonists who carried out the attack, Ugnius Asmena, Nii Mensah, and Jakeem Rose As Mr English drove the trio in his Kia Picanto through south London, which was covered by CCTV, they were tracked by phone data and traffic cameras. Rose and Mensah were also seen on footage getting out of the vehicle, and climbing over a wall as they approached the warehouses. Rose dropped a very large knife with his DNA on it, as they fled the scene, while Mensah later messaged Reeves to say he 'left his Rambo at the scene'. Prosecutor Duncan Penny KC said that while the arsonists were motivated by the promise of money, Earl and Reeves had been working on behalf of Russia. Earl had told a Wagner operative he met on Telegram he was keen to carry out a series of 'missions' and admitted preparing to set fire to the Hide Restaurant and Hedonism Wines in Mayfair, west London. He also admitted to the kidnap plot of owner Mr Chichvarkin, described as a 'high-profile Russian dissident and refugee' who has been vocal in his criticism of Putin and the war in Ukraine. Reeves, from Croydon, south London, who was also prepared to accept money from a foreign intelligence service to target the Russian dissident had sent an unknown contact Mr Chichvarkin's name and said he would make an 'amazing target'. Earl's Wagner contact, named Privet Bot, instructed him to watch the period drama The Americans and use it as a 'manual' for his covert mission. Set during the Cold War, the television series is about two KGB agents posing as Americans in Washington DC to spy on the American government. Drug dealer Earl also appeared to brag in further chats with Privet Bot that he had criminal connections and could 'sort' an introduction to the IRA and Kinahan Irish organised crime group. He was arrested in a B&Q car park in Hinckley, Leicestershire, and videos of the warehouse fire being started were found on his iPhone. Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said the convicted defendants would be sentenced on a date to be fixed in the autumn.
Metro
3 days ago
- Politics
- Metro
Mystery after two Putin cronies are found dead on same day
On the same day that a Russian minister was found dead hours after being sacked, a second man in the same department dropped dead. Deputy head of Russia's Federal Road Agency's Property Management Department, Andrey Korneichuk, reportedly stood up and collapsed in his office. Paramedics declared the 42-year-old dead at the scene, with initial reports finding his heart just 'stopped'. The sudden death has raised eyebrows, given that his boss, Transportation Minister Roman Starovoit, was found dead with gunshot wounds on the same day. There's no indication the incidents are linked, but the timing of the men's sudden deaths is hard to ignore, given the high level of Russian officials who seem to die after being dismissed from their jobs or speaking out against President Vladimir Putin. Starovoit, 53, was sacked after barely a year as transport minister without an official explanation. Russia's Investigative Committee, the top criminal investigation agency, said the body of Starovoit was found with a gunshot wound in Odintsovo, a neighbourhood just west of the capital where many members of Russia's elite live. He's the most recent Russian politician close to Putin to die in mysterious circumstances. Sergei Markov, director of Russia's Institute of Political Studies, shocked the country when he went on the record and suggested Starovoit was murdered. 'The Russian elite was shocked by the suicide of Roman Starovoit, the former Minister of Transport, just a few hours after Putin removed him,' he said. 'But it seems to me that those who eliminated him – that is, those against whom he could have testified after his arrest – are trying to hide his real murder by using the suicide version.' Starovoit was last seen in public on Sunday morning when an official video from the ministry's situation room featured him receiving reports from officials. The death came days after an oil tycoon who had links to the KGB became the latest high-profile figure to mysteriously fall from a high building in Russia. More Trending Transneft vice-president Andrey Badalov, 62, is said to have fallen from the penthouse of the luxury high rise where in lived in Moscow. 'Badalov's body was found under the windows of an [apartment building] on Rublevskoye Highway,' a source told TASS. Transneft is Russia's state oil pipeline monopoly which is run by former KGB spy, Nikolai Tokarev, 74, who served with Vladimir Putin, 72, in Germany in the Cold War. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Nato scrambles warplanes after Putin unleashes heaviest strikes of the war MORE: Trump complains about Putin's 'bulls***' during Ukraine peace talks MORE: Wagner Group 'proxies' carried out arson on Ukraine-linked warehouse in London
Straits Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Three men guilty of UK arson attack on Ukraine-linked businesses ordered by Russia's Wagner group
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox British officials said the arson attack on Ukraine-linked businesses in London had been ordered by Russia's Wagner mercenary group. LONDON - Three men were found guilty on July 8 over an arson attack on Ukraine-linked businesses in London which British officials said had been ordered by Russia's Wagner mercenary group and was the latest malign activity conducted on behalf of Moscow in Britain. Ringleader Dylan Earl, 21, had already pleaded guilty to aggravated arson over the 2024 blaze, which targeted companies delivering satellite equipment from Elon Musk's Starlink to Ukraine. Starlink and the satellite devices are vital for Ukraine's defence against Russia's continuing invasion. Earl also became the first person convicted under the National Security Act when he admitted his role in a plot targeting a wine shop and restaurant in London's upmarket Mayfair district, with plans to kidnap the owner, a high-profile critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Jake Reeves, 23, also pleaded guilty before trial to aggravated arson and a National Security Act charge of obtaining a material benefit from a foreign intelligence agency. A jury at London's Old Bailey court on July 8 convicted three other men - Nii Kojo Mensah, 23, Jakeem Rose, 23, and Ugnius Asmena, 20 - of aggravated arson, though they had denied the charge. It cleared a fourth man, Paul English, 61. (From left) Nii Kojo Mensah, Jakeem Rose and Ugnius Asmena were convicted of aggravated arson. PHOTO: METROPOLITAN POLICE Ashton Evans, 20, and Dmitrijus Paulauskas, 23, denied two counts of knowing about terrorist acts but failing to disclose the information. Evans was convicted of one charge and cleared of a second, while Paulauskas was acquitted of both charges – bursting into tears and nodding towards the jury. The convictions are the latest involving allegations of malign activity by Moscow in Britain, after a group of Bulgarians was convicted in March of being directed by Wirecard fugitive Jan Marsalek to spy for Russian intelligence. In recent years, London has accused Russia or its agents of being behind spy plots and sabotage missions in Britain and across Europe, with the British domestic spy chief saying Russian operatives were trying to cause 'mayhem'. The Kremlin has denied the accusations, and its embassy in London has rejected any part in the warehouse fire, saying the British government repeatedly blames Russia for anything 'bad' that happens in Britain. More 'proxies' British authorities say that, since the expulsion of Russian spies following the 2018 poisoning of Russian double agent Sergei Skripal, Moscow has had to rely mainly on criminals motivated by financial gain, or those with existing grievances, to carry out activities on its behalf. Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the London police's Counter Terrorism Command, said both plots involving Earl showed 'the Russian state projecting activity into the United Kingdom'. He said Russia and other states such as Iran had adapted to British authorities' response to hostile activity, with some 20 per cent of counterterrorism police's work coming from foreign states. 'We've made the UK a hostile operating environment for those governments but, as a result, they've diversified and are now contacting relatively young people to act on their behalf as proxies in doing their activity,' Comm Murphy said. Ringleader Dylan Earl and Jake Reeves had already pleaded guilty to aggravated arson over the 2024 attack. PHOTOS: METROPOLITAN POLICE Earl – who, along with Evans, also pleaded guilty to dealing cocaine – exchanged hundreds of messages with an apparent Wagner handler who encouraged him to find links with soccer hooligans, Irish republican militants and high-profile criminal groups. Earl also expressed a desire to fight for Wagner, a proscribed terrorist group in Britain which was heavily engaged in the earlier stages of Russia's war in Ukraine, until its founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, led a short-lived mutiny against Russia's defence establishment in 2023. Earl's contact used the name 'Privet Bot' on Telegram and reporting by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and others last year said the account had been advertised on Grey Zone, a channel affiliated with Wagner. Comm Murphy said he was confident that 'it was Wagner and it is the Russian state tasking these individuals'. Comm Murphy also said he expected further similar actions from criminals acting as state proxies. REUTERS
DW
4 days ago
- Politics
- DW
UK court convicts 3 men of arson attack ordered by Wagner – DW – 07/08/2025
The arson attack targeted a London industrial unit where generators and Starlink devices bound for Ukraine were being stored. British prosecutors said Russia's Wagner mercenary group ordered the attack. A UK court has found three men guilty over an arson attack against Ukraine-linked businesses, which British officials said were orded by the Wagner Group paramilitary. The three men, aged in their early 20s, had pleaded not guilty to aggravated arson but were convicted by a jury on Tuesday at London's Old Bailey court. A fourth man aged 61 was cleared of the charge. The two ringleaders, also in their early 20s, pleaded guilty to aggravated arson and a charge under the National Security Act before the trial started. Prosecutor Duncan Penny said earlier that one of the ringleaders was "knowingly acting at the behest of the Wagner Group," which is banned in the UK as a terrorist organization, and "knew he was acting against Ukrainian, and for Russian interests." The arson attack was carried out on March 20, 2024. It targeted a warehouse in east London where generators and Starlink satellite equipment bound for Ukraine were being stored. The blaze caused around £1 million ($1.35 million/ €1.16 million) in damage. Prosecutors said the attack was planned by agents of the Wagner Group who were acting on behalf of Russian military intelligence. The Wagner Group was formed as a paramilitary by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a restaurateur and associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The group was implicated in human rights abuses in Ukraine, Syria and several African countries. Prigozhin launched an ill-fated rebellion against Putin in 2023 and was killed in a plane explosion two months later. The Wagner Group was subsequently weakened and made subordinate to Russia's armed forces.
