A man charged with a gangland murder in west Belfast allegedly made online inquiries about getting a one-way flight to America before handing himself in to police, the High Court heard on Monday.
Prosecutors claimed Aidan O’Keefe, 27, carried out the internet search following the “organised hit” on Kevin Conway.
Mr Conway, 26, was shot multiple times at his Rossnareen Park flat on January 9 this year.
He had been associated with a notorious crime organisation known as The Firm and was on bail for the murder of Shane Whitla in Lurgan, Co Armagh 12 months previously.
Police revealed he was gunned down just minutes after sending his partner a message to say he was relaxing at home on the Playstation.
The killers are believed to have entered the property and opened fire with a shotgun and a pistol.
O’Keefe and co-accused Fergal Kane, 54, have been charged with the murder as part of an alleged joint enterprise.
Both men, whose addresses in Belfast cannot be reported, face a further count of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life.
Neither of them is suspected of carrying out the shooting.
Instead, detectives claim the pair travelled in convoy by van and car to the scene of the assassination.
They are allegedly connected by CCTV evidence, a vehicle tracking device and registration plate sightings on the night of the murder.
O’Keefe left the Royal Victoria Hospital earlier that evening and drove his Toyota Proace work van through a number of streets in the west of the city before linking up with Kane’s BMW car, according to the police case.
The vehicles were said to have been parked up near the victim’s home at the time of the murder.
Based on CCTV footage and GPRS tracking data, the van and car then left the area and split up.
Two suspected gunmen observed walking on foot in the neighbourhood after the shooting have yet to be caught.
With Kane released on bail earlier this month, O’Keefe mounted a similar application to be released from custody.
Prosecution counsel claimed the pair are “inextricably linked at least to the planning, preparation and facilitation of the murder”.
Opposing bail, she indicated detectives suspect O’Keefe was planning to leave Northern Ireland prior to arrest.
“On January 24, two days before he handed himself in to police, he used the phone of a work colleague to perform the Google search ‘Can I get a one-way flight into America’,” the barrister submitted.
The court heard O’Keefe also purchased a new mobile and withdrew £250 in cash which have never been recovered.
Counsel added: “We are concerned about the brutality of what appears to have been an organised hit on Mr Conway.”
She told the court O’Keefe was apparently “accepted” into the dissident republican wing while held on remand in HMP Maghaberry.
Defence barrister Michael Forde insisted O’Keefe should be released from custody to ensure equal treatment with his co-accused.
“The case against this applicant appears to be based on suspicion rather than evidence,” he contended.
Mr Forde maintained his client has strong ties to his local community and never attempted to leave the jurisdiction.
Adjourning the application, Mr Justice McFarland called for more information on the circumstances around the alleged internet search.
The judge said: “I would not be minded to grant bail unless there was a reasonable explanation why your client was Googling ‘How can I get a one-way flight to America’.”