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Telegraph
15 hours ago
- Telegraph
Wagner Group told British proxy to use KGB drama ‘as manual'
The Wagner Group told a British proxy to use a TV drama about KGB spies in the US 'as a manual', a court heard. Dylan Earl, 20, has admitted orchestrating an arson attack on an east London warehouse and plotting to burn down Mayfair businesses, kidnapping their Russian dissident owner last year, following help from the Russian-backed terrorist group. On Thursday, jurors at the Old Bailey saw a chat between Earl, of Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire, and a Wagner Group contact identified by the handle Privet Bot on Telegram. The day before the arson attack, Privet Bot instructed Earl to watch the television series The Americans, about KGB agents undercover in the US, 'in order to understand work'. Privet Bot said: '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. We'll give you support... 'Watch this series. It will be your manual. You'll have a source of funding through organising arsons.' The court has heard how Earl allegedly roped in Jake Reeves, 23, from Croydon, London, to help recruit people to carry out the arson attack on the warehouse. Earl also revealed his plans to Ashton Evans, 20, from Newport, Gwent, on Signal, Snapchat and mobile phone messages, it is alleged. They had initially communicated about drug dealing, with Earl adopting the name of a notorious Russian 'hitman', the court was told. Mr Evans was allegedly aware that Earl had orchestrated the warehouse arson attack. Three days after the fire, which caused £1 million of damage, Mr Evans asked: 'Did you light it up?' the court was told. They went on to discuss the plot to burn down Hide restaurant and Hedonism wine shop in Mayfair, snatch the owner and hand him over to Russia. Earl warned there would be a 'good amount of heat after this' and it would be 'on every news channel and radio in our country'. Mr Evans allegedly replied: 'Yes, I can sort if there is a way we can do so without people getting hurt cause that's when the police will take very very serious - like [terror] level serious.' Stressing the need for security, Earl told him: 'It will be a huge thing and every single spy agency trying to find who did it so careful ok.' Mr Evans agreed that it would 'bring a lot of attention MI5 etc', the court heard. On April 1 2024, Earl asked Mr Evans to delete their chats and asked if he could make connections with the IRA or the Irish Kinahan crime family. Earl suggested he wanted to 'build a link' between the Kinahans and Russia, saying: 'We have direct connection to the Kremlin, we can do suin [something] big.' After his arrest, Mr Evans claimed he did not take the chat seriously, having jokingly told Earl: 'And this is all in mine craft, right?' He also claimed in a police interview that he was just stringing Earl along to get a refund for £300 of fake cocaine he had bought, the court was told. Earl and Reeves have pleaded guilty to aggravated arson of the east London warehouse and an offence under the National Security Act. The court was told that Reeves had revealed details of their plans to another contact, Dmitrijus Paulauskas, having described Earl as 'Russian mafia'. On the kidnap plot, Reeves allegedly told Mr Paulauskas that the idea was to 'get him sent back to Russia for imprisonment'. Paulauskas, 23, from Croydon, allegedly responded to Wagner Group activity on UK soil with glee, saying: 'I'm so f------ gassed cos that means the west has already have already u r allowed to call urself (sic) Russian now.' The defendant, who was later to claim that he took none of it seriously, allegedly responded to the warehouse attack by saying: 'Holy f--- so Wagner literally has UK gangs doing their work.' Shortly before their arrests, the men pondered why Earl – 'the Russian guy' – had not been on Snapchat for five days. Mr Paulauskas suggested he was busy in his job 'sabotaging UK'. Prosecutor Duncan Penny KC told jurors that by then Earl had been in custody for nine days. He said: 'The position is clear: Reeves told Mr Paulauskas about the plan to kidnap the target, who had sent money to Ukraine and who was to be sent back to Russia, and about the fact that the attack on the east London warehouse.' Mr Penny added that the realisation there was foreign interference by the Wagner group on British soil through the use of 'UK criminals as proxies', seemed to have been a matter of 'quite some pleasure' to Mr Paulauskas. Mr Evans and Mr Paulauskas have each denied two charges of failing to disclose information about terrorist acts, which they deny.
The Independent
a day ago
- The Independent
Wagner Group UK proxy instructed to use Cold War drama as a ‘manual'
A proxy for the terrorist Wagner Group was instructed to use a Cold War drama about KGB spies in the United States as a 'manual' for his mission in the UK, a court has heard. Dylan Earl, 20, has admitted orchestrating an arson attack on an east London warehouse, and plotting to burn down Mayfair businesses and kidnap their Russian dissident owner last year. On Thursday, jurors at the Old Bailey saw chat between Earl, of Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire, and a Wagner Group contact identified by the handle Privet Bot on Telegram. The day before the arson attack, Privet Bot instructed Earl to watch the television series The Americans, about KGB agents undercover in the US, 'in order to understand work'. Privet Bot went on: '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. We'll give you support… 'Watch this series. It will be your manual. You'll have a source of funding through organising arsons.' The court has heard how Earl allegedly roped in Jake Reeves, 23, from Croydon, south London, to help recruit people to carry out the arson attack on the warehouse. Earl also revealed his plans to Ashton Evans 20, from Newport, Gwent, on Signal, Snapchat and mobile phone messages, it is alleged. They had initially communicated about drug dealing, with Earl adopting the name of a notorious Russian 'hitman', the court was told. Evans was allegedly aware that Earl had orchestrated the warehouse arson attack. Three days after the fire, which caused £1 million of damage, Evans asked: 'Did you light it up?' the court was told. They went on to discuss the plot to burn down Hide restaurant and Hedonism wine shop in Mayfair, snatch the owner and hand him over to Russia. Earl warned there would be a 'good amount of heat after this' and it would be 'on every news channel and radio in our country'. Evans allegedly replied: 'Yes, I can sort if there is a way we can do so without people getting hurt cause that's when the police will take very very serious – like t***or (terror) level serious.' Stressing the need for security, Earl told him: 'It will be a huge thing and every single spy agency trying to find who did it so careful ok.' Evans agreed that it would 'bring a lot of attention MI5 etc', the court heard. On April 1 2024, Earl asked Evans to delete their chats and asked if he could make connections with the IRA or the Irish Kinahan crime family. Earl suggested he wanted to 'build a link' between the Kinahans and Russia, saying: 'We have direct connection to the Kremlin, we can do suin (something) big.' After his arrest, Evans claimed he did not take the chat seriously, having jokingly told Earl: 'And this is all in mine craft, right?' He also claimed in a police interview that he was just stringing Earl along to get a refund for £300 of fake cocaine he had bought, the court was told. Earl and Reeves have pleaded guilty to aggravated arson of the east London warehouse and an offence under the National Security Act. The court was told that Reeves had revealed details of their plans to another contact, Dmirjus Paulauskas, having described Earl as 'Russian mafia'. On the kidnap plot, Reeves allegedly told Paulauskas that the idea was to 'get him sent back to Russia for imprisonment'. Paulauskas, 23, from Croydon, allegedly responded to Wagner Group activity on UK soil with glee, saying: 'I'm so f****** gassed cos that means the west has already have already u r allowed to call urself Russian now (sic).' The defendant, who was later to claim that he took none of it seriously, allegedly responded to the warehouse attack by saying: 'Holy f*** so Wagner literally has UK gangs doing their work..' Shortly before their arrests, the men pondered why Earl – 'the Russian guy' – had not been on Snapchat for five days. Paulaskas suggested he was busy in his job 'sabotaging UK'. Prosecutor Duncan Penny KC told jurors that by then Earl had been in custody for nine days. He said: 'The position is clear: Reeves told Mr Paulauskas about the plan to kidnap the target, who had sent money to Ukraine and who was to be sent back to Russia, and about the fact that the attack on the east London warehouse.' Mr Penny added that the realisation there was foreign interference by the Wagner group on British soil through the use of 'UK criminals as proxies', seemed to have been a matter of 'quite some pleasure' to Paulauskas. Evans and Paulauskas have each denied two charges of failing to disclose information about terrorist acts, which they deny. Jakeem Rose, 23, from Croydon, Ugnius Asmena, 20, of no fixed address, Nii Mensah, 23, of Thornton Heath, south London, and Paul English, 61, of Roehampton, south-west London, have denied aggravated arson relating to the warehouse fire. The Old Bailey trial continues.
Sky News
2 days ago
- Business
- Sky News
Russian mercenary group ordered arson attack on London warehouse linked to Ukraine, Old Bailey hears
Arsonists set fire to a London warehouse linked to Ukraine after one of the men who orchestrated the attack was recruited by a Russian mercenary group, a court has heard. Around £1m of damage was caused by the blaze at an industrial unit in Leyton that was supplying StarLink satellite equipment to Ukraine, the Old Bailey was told. The attack on 20 March last year was orchestrated by 20-year-old Dylan Earl - who was recruited by the Wagner Group - and Jake Reeves, 23, jurors heard. Reeves, of Croydon, has pleaded guilty to agreeing to accept a material benefit from a foreign intelligence service under the National Security Act 2023. Earl, of Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire, has pleaded guilty to aggravated arson and preparatory conduct under the National Security Act 2023. The court was 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, who was a Russian dissident. Six men have gone on trial in the case - which is the first concerning allegations under the UK's new counter-espionage laws. Two units in the Cromwell Industrial Estate were set on fire - and it took eight fire engines and 60 firefighters to put out the blaze, the court heard. The arsonists livestreamed as they set fire to the business, jurors were told. The six men on trial are charged with a range of offences including aggravated arson and failure to disclose information about terrorist acts. They have all pleaded not guilty. Duncan Penny KC, prosecuting, told the jury that Earl was "knowingly acting at the behest of the Wagner Group" - a private military contractor linked to Russia which was proscribed as a terrorist organisation in September 2023 - and "commissioned the arson attack on the warehouses". Explaining how Earl was recruited, the prosecutor said he contacted the Wagner Group "when he joined a broadcast channel in its name on the social media application Telegram". "From there, he became connected to two handles, 'Privet Bot' aka 'Lucky Strike', who acted on behalf of the Wagner Group," Mr Penny told the court. "It appears that Earl expressed a willingness to undertake 'missions' of which the Leyton arson attack was the first. It is apparent that Earl knew he was acting against Ukrainian, and for Russian, interests." Mr Penny told the court that the warehouse units in Cromwell Industrial Estate appeared to have been selected as targets over their connection to Kyiv. Specifically, the jury heard that the business conducted there was concerned with logistics, frequently delivering goods to Ukraine, including StarLink satellite equipment. "The businesses which operated from there were also involved in organising humanitarian aid efforts to support Ukraine," the prosecutor added. Mr Penny said an expert witness will tell the court that after an aborted coup against the Russian government in June 2023, the Wagner Group and its activities - which include sabotage - have been under the direct command of the Russian government. Defendants Ashton Evans, 20, from Newport, Gwent, and Dmitrijus Paulauskas, 22, from Croydon, deny failure to disclose information about terrorist acts. Fellow defendants Paul English, 61, of Roehampton, Nii Kojo Mensah, 23, of Thornton Heath, and Jakeem Barrington Rose, 23, of Croydon, and Ugnius Asmena, 20, of no fixed address, all deny aggravated arson.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
British 'arson gang' recruited by Moscow-backed Wagner Group to 'firebomb Mayfair restaurant and kidnap 'Russian dissident' owner after torching Ukrainian parcel firm warehouse', court hears
Two British men were recruited by Russia 's Wagner Group to firebomb a Mayfair restaurant and kidnap its owner after carrying out a £1million arson attack on a warehouse with equipment bound for Ukraine, a court heard yesterday The terrorist group conducting a sabotage campaign on behalf of Russian intelligence is said to have recruited two men to set fire to a warehouse in Leyton, East London, destroying over £100,000 worth of equipment, including generators and vital Starlink satellite equipment destined for Ukraine. The Old Bailey heard that the blaze at 11.40pm on March 20 last year was livestreamed on Facetime to the 'architect' of the plot who then reported back to the Russians on the success of the 'mission'. The attack was orchestrated by Jake Reeves, 23, and Dylan Earl, 20, from Leicestershire who went on to plan an arson attack on a restaurant and wine business in Mayfair by kidnapping the owner of the businesses. The owner of the Hide Restaurant and Hedonism Wines, which were valued at over £30million and employed 200 people, was described as a 'high profile dissident' and 'refugee' who was open about his criticism of Putin, the court heard. The duo planned to kidnap him in a bid to 'influence the Government' to further 'a political and ideological cause', jurors were told. Their kidnapping and arson plot was unearthed after a group of men, who were supposedly enlisted by Reeves and Earl, stood trial on allegations of setting a east London warehouse storing Ukrainian bound equipment alight. Prosecutor Duncan Penny, KC, said: 'Acting at the behest of the Wagner Group, [Earl] planned a similar arson attack on two businesses – a wine shop called Hedonism and a restaurant called Hide – in West London. Jake Reeves (pictured left) and Dylan Earl orchestrated an attack on satellite equipment bound for Ukraine before planning an arson on a restaurant in Mayfor, a court heard 'The businesses belong to a high-profile Russian dissident and refugee who has been vocal in his criticism of president Putin and the war in Ukraine. He has, for example, driven aid trucks from the UK to Ukraine personally.' Mr Penny added: 'You might think that it is self-evident that these actions were designed to influence the government and to intimidate at least a section of the public and furthermore were made for the purpose of advancing a political and ideological cause.' Both have also already admitted aggravated arson on behalf of the Wagner Group and an offence under the National Security Act, jurors heard. They also have admitted the separate plot to set fire to the firms in west London, as well as to kidnapping their owner on behalf of the Wagner Group. Yesterday the four men who were allegedly recruited to carry out the attack, Jakeem Rose, 23, Ugnius Asmena, 20, Nii Mensah, 23 and Paul English, 61, went on trial accused of aggravated arson. Mr Penny told jurors: 'This was deliberate and calculated criminality - at the behest of foreign influence. 'In the case of these defendants at the time of the fire they may have been ignorant of that influence and the motive may have been financial - good old-fashioned greed. 'For others, however, it appears to have been both political and ideological.' Mr Penny said the warehouse was targeted because of its connection to Ukraine, with the premises also being used to store humanitarian aid bound for the war zone. The fire started by a jerry can of petrol caused more than £1million in damage to the buildings, with eight fire crews battling to bring it under control. The driver of a lorry parked nearby tried unsuccessfully to put out the fire which was started within 10metres of houses, but no one was hurt in the attack. Earl, described as the 'architect' of the plot, was said to have knowingly acted at the behest of the Wagner Group, a proscribed terrorist organisation 'under the direct command of the Russian government'. The Briton contacted the Wagner Group on the encrypted social media application Telegram expressing a willingness to undertake 'missions' of which the Leyton arson attack was the first, Mr Penny said. 'It is apparent that Dylan Earl knew he was acting against Ukrainian, and for Russian, interests,' he told jurors. 'The reason for the selection of this building as a particular target in East London in March of last year appears to have been its connection to Ukraine.' The warehouse housed a logistics company which was frequently delivering goods to Ukraine, including StarLink satellite equipment. Reeves only discovered afterwards the motive for the attack but was 'still prepared to agree to accept money from a foreign intelligence service in respect of further planned offences,' the court was told. Mr Penny said the four alleged arsonists 'may have been ignorant of that influence', but acted out of 'old-fashioned greed'. The group were captured on CCTV with Rose seen pouring a jerry can of petrol onto the doors of the warehouse units and setting them alight, jurors heard. Mensah is alleged to have filmed the blaze with a mobile telephone, livestreaming it to Earl. The court heard that there is 'overwhelming evidence' against the defendants, including a knife with Rose's DNA dropped at the scene. Following the attack, Mensah allegedly messaged Earl saying: 'Bro there was bare smoke... You saw it on Face Time. He added: 'Bro lol it's on the news... we dun damagees (sic).' Rose, of Croydon, Asmena, of no fixed address, Mensah, of Thornton Heath and English, of Roehampton, have denied aggravated arson. The case continues.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Men 'livestreamed' Russia-linked arson plot, court hears
Arsonists were "livestreamed" as they set fire to a business supplying Starlink satellite equipment to Ukraine after being recruited by agents for the Russian mercenary group Wagner, a court has £1m of damage was caused by the blaze at a warehouse in Leyton, east London, on 20 March last year, the Old Bailey was attack was orchestrated by Dylan Earl, 20, and Jake Reeves, 23, who have admitted aggravated arson on behalf of the Wagner Group and an offence under the National Security Act, jurors Rose, 23, Ugnius Asmena, 20, Nii Mensah, 23, and Paul English, 61, were allegedly recruited to set fire to the warehouse. Opening the trial on Wednesday, Duncan Penny KC, for the prosecution, said the evidence against them was "overwhelming".He said that CCTV, traffic cameras and phone evidence tracked their journey in Mr English's Kia Picanto through south London to the scene of the footage captured Mr Rose and Mr Mensah getting out of the vehicle, climbing over a wall and approaching the warehouses, jurors filled a jerry can en route at a petrol station, Rose poured the contents onto warehouse unit doors and set them alight, it was Mr Mensah filmed the arson attack on his mobile phone and "livestreamed it on FaceTime", jurors were were told that a lorry driver parked nearby was bedding down for the night at the bravely but unsuccessfully tried to put out the fire, putting himself in significant danger, Mr Penny fire crews tackled the "significant" fire on the Cromwell Industrial Estate after it broke out shortly before caused "extensive damage" to the property and risked the lives of those nearby, he Penny told jurors: "This was deliberate and calculated criminality - at the behest of foreign influence."In the case of these defendants at the time of the fire they may have been ignorant of that influence and the motive may have been financial - good old-fashioned greed."For others, however, it appears to have been both political and ideological."Mr Penny said the warehouse was targeted for its connection to Ukraine and the fact that the business there was involved in firm frequently delivered goods to Ukraine, including Starlink satellite equipment and was involved in organising humanitarian aid, the court was was said to be the "architect" of the warehouse Reeves discovered the motivation behind it, he was prepared to agree to accept money from a foreign intelligence service to target an individual and businesses in the capital, the jury was of Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire, and Reeves, of Croydon, have admitted plots to set fire to the Hide Restaurant and Hedonism Wines in Mayfair, west London, and kidnapping their owner on behalf of the Wagner Group, the court Penny said: "You might think that it is self-evident that these actions were designed to influence the government and to intimidate at least a section of the public and furthermore were made for the purpose of advancing a political and ideological cause."It is also relevant that at least one method of attack on the Mayfair premises discussed between Earl and Evans was by way of explosion."Mr Rose, of Croydon, Mr Asmena, of no fixed address, Mr Mensah, of Thornton Heath and Mr English, of Roehampton, have denied aggravated other defendants, Ashton Evans, 20, from Newport, Gwent, and Dmirjus Paulauskas, 23, from Croydon, are each charged with two counts of failing to disclose information about terrorist acts, which they trial continues.
