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South African police said Friday they have arrested a Czech fugitive who is the controversial owner of a Johannesburg area shop where an explosion last week killed two people.
Radovan Krejcir was detained on an arrest warrant related to charges of attempted murder and kidnapping, a police statement said, without giving further details.
Krejcir has been fighting an attempt by South African authorities to have him extradited to the Czech Republic, where he is wanted for several crimes including tax fraud.
He claims the charges were trumped up because of his political links back home.
The blast at his shop called Money Point, a gold and diamond exchange operation, on November 12 was the most recent in a string of deadly attacks appearing to target Krejcir.
In July, Krejcir escaped a suspected attempt on his life when a machinegun-rigged car fired at him as he entered his business premises, which are near a large shopping mall. The car later burst into flames.
Krejcir recently issued a statement noting that there had been two attempts on his life.
“The first… involved a motorcar that had been rigged with crude guns and operated by remote control. The other was a recent bomb blast which I assume was aimed at killing me. Unfortunately, two friends of mine died and another friend of mine was severely injured,” he said in the statement.
“I want to categorically state that I have had no involvement in any of the killings that the media have been so freely speculating about,” he added.
South African media have reported that Krejcir is suspected of links to organised crime and that at least 10 people associated with him have been killed.