Two men were remanded in custody on Friday charged with the murder of Irish gangland boss Robbie Lawlor.
The 36-year-old underworld figure was gunned down outside a house in North Belfast earlier this year.
Patrick Teer, 45, from Thornberry Hill in the city, and Adrian Holland, 37, with an address at Woodleigh Terrace in Derry, are jointly charged with the murder.
Appearing together at Belfast Magistrates’ Court, both men also faced a further count of possessing a firearm - namely a 9mm pistol - with intent to endanger life.
A judge was told the alleged evidence against them is based on number plate recognition and cell site analysis, Belfast Live reports.
Lawlor was shot dead in broad daylight at Etna Drive in the Ardoyne district on April 4.
He is believed to have been assassinated after travelling to the area to collect a drug debt.
A gunman emerged and opened fire, hitting the victim several times. He died at the scene. Stray bullets also struck a car parked outside the property, narrowly missing one of Lawlor’s associates.
Originally from Dublin, Lawlor was widely reported to have been heavily involved in a feud between rival Drogheda-based factions.
He had been linked to the abduction and murder of 17-year-old Keane Mulready-Woods in January this year.
Teer and Holland appeared remotely from a police custody suite in Belfast.
Both men spoke only to confirm they understood the charges. Defence representatives confirmed neither accused was seeking bail at this stage.
Solicitor Ciaran Toner, representing Teer, said: “This is an incredibly complex, circumstantial case based on ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) and cell site analysis.”
District Judge Steven Keown remanded Teer and Holland in custody, to appear again by video-link on January 8.
