A FORMER Team GB boxer has escaped jail after he helped mastermind a nationwide black market racket in stolen telecoms equipment which cost BT almost £400,000.
Three other men who has also got suspended sentences for their parts in the racket also had appeals against their terms rejected.boxing squad in 2009 and at one point was captain but he turned pro after narrowly missing out on a place in the 2012 Olympic Games in The theft racket began in 2019 after Counihan got a job as a cable fitter for a fibre optic installation subcontracting business run by 35-year old Michael George and which was used by BT on outsourcedheard the gang ''had specialist knowledge of the operational workings of BT and of the high demand on the black market for the specialist fibre optic installation equipment.''BT Openreach vans parked overnight and cut holes into the rooves with metal cutters.
There were also messages where items were requested, and plans formed to steal to order. Counihan sent messages to an associate asking if he wanted a splicer, and discussing fibre optic equipment that was available to purchase. He then sent screenshots stating that he had been “putting feelers out”.