A Ukrainian former security officer wanted in his country for a lethal bomb attack in 1995 has been arrested in central Athens, where he had been living legally for the past few years working as a house painter, police said yesterday.

Viacheslav Synenko, 55, was arrested on the strength of an international warrant for allegedly planting a bomb at a football stadium in the Ukrainian town of Donetsk on October 15, 1995. Five people died in the blast — the owner of a local football team, his brother and three bodyguards — while three more were injured. The attack had been attributed to a turf war between local criminals.

Police tracked down Synenko after a tip-off that he was living in the Athens district of Metaxourgeio. Officers conducted a door-to-door investigation, displaying Synenko’s photograph, and finally located him in a small fifth-floor flat. He is in Korydallos Prison pending extradition.