Police mounted a surveillance operation in the Canary Islands on a man they suspected of the £26.5 million Northern Bank robbery, a detective told a court in Belfast yesterday.
The undercover operation was mounted in Fuerteventura after Christopher Ward, a 24-year-old Northern Bank employee, told police he was going there on holiday, a PSNI detective confirmed at Belfast Magistrates' Court.
Mr Ward, from Colinmill, Poleglass, west Belfast, has been charged with the robbery at the Northern Bank's Belfast headquarters a year ago, and of using a gun to carry out the robbery.
Det Insp Sean Wright said that when Mr Ward was charged, he replied: "Police have bugged my house, a holiday in Spain, went through all my phone records, my bank accounts, hounded my friends, even going as far as Australia, and have tortured my family in an attempt to frame me with the Northern Bank robbery.
"Police have failed in all of these counts, they have held me longer than the hostage-takers who seized me last year.
"Indeed, they held me in a police station for longer than anyone else in the history of the North of Ireland."
The court was told that the case against Mr Ward was based on his actions on December 18th and 19th last year; his actions on December 20th, the day of the raid; his original account of what happened, and a works rota.
Det Insp Wright, who said he could connect the accused to the crime, told the court that surveillance would have a direct impact on at least one of these areas.
He confirmed to defence solicitor Niall Murphy that Mr Ward had no criminal record and that during 60 interviews he had denied any involvement in the robbery.
Det Insp Wright said that when Mr Ward went on holiday to Fuerteventura a surveillance operation was mounted.
During cross-examination by Mr Murphy, Det Insp Wright accepted that Mr Ward had told police about the trip to Fuerteventura.
Mr Murphy told the court that evidence gathered from surveillance devices placed during Mr Ward's holiday in Fuerteventura and at his home was put to Mr Ward during questioning.
Ten of the 60 interview tapes, amounting to nearly four hours, involved police going through a detailed analysis of Mr Ward's bank account with a detective from the Financial Investigations Unit, Mr Murphy added.
Stressing that Mr Ward absolutely denied the offence, Mr Murphy said he would be applying for High Court bail.
Mr Ward was remanded in custody to appear again by video link on January 4th.