Six men have been jailed for taking part in an arson attack initiated by Russia, which damaged a London warehouse supplying aid to Ukraine.
The group’s leader, 21-year-old drug dealer Dylan Earl, was recruited by the Wagner Group to organise the action, which took place in March last year. Under the new national security law, Earl was sentenced to 23 years in prison.
The other five men received sentences of between eight and 12 years, for roles including organising the attack, filming it, setting fires, arranging a getaway car, and concealing information from the police about the planned kidnapping of a Russian citizen.
On Friday, October 24th, the judge at the Old Bailey court said the men were “paid to serve the interests of a foreign power.”
The planned action fits an emerging pattern of overseas espionage services recruiting local criminals to conduct missions in their home countries.
