Czech fugitive Radovan Krejcir, who was believed to be behind the bomb blast in Johannesburg earlier this month, has been arrested, police said on Friday.

Krejcir, who has been on the run since the Nov. 12 blast, faces charges of attempted murder and kidnapping, police lietenant- general Solomon Makgale said.

The Czech businessman was apprehended at his house in Bedfordview, east of Johannesburg, on Friday, said Makgale.

Police have been investigating Krejcir's possible role in the blast, which killed two of his associates and wounded five others.

The blast took place in Krejcir's shop in Bedfordview, but the motive for the explosion remains unknown. The blast was believed to be carried out in Mafia style.

Krejcir is fighting extradition to the Czech Republic, where he faces an 11-year prison sentence on tax fraud, conspiracy to murder, counterfeiting, extortion and abduction.

He arrived in South Africa in 2007 with papers indicating he was an asylum seeker from the Seychelles.

In July, Krejcir was the target of an apparent bid to kill him outside his Bedfordview office. He escaped unharmed.

Several men reportedly associated to Krejicir have been shot and killed over the last two and a half years. Endi

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