Langenfeld - German police said Thursday they had arrested an unassuming Italian suspected of working as a hired killer for an organized-crime syndicate in the Italian province of Apulia.

The unarmed man had no time to resist when he was suddenly handcuffed Wednesday evening as he returned home from his regular job as a tradesman in an eastern suburb of Dusseldorf.

The suspect, 46, is accused by a magistrate in Bari, Italy of attempting to murder two persons with a pump-action shotgun in 2000 on a street in Manfredonia, Italy at the orders of the syndicate. Both were wounded, but survived the attack

Police in the suburban town of Mettmann did not identify the Apulian gang involved, but said the man, who is married and has lived in Germany for 14 years without getting into any trouble, was sought under an international arrest warrant.

A police armed offenders squad lay in wait and seized him on his way home from work. He was to appear for remand by a Dusseldorf court and is expected to be extradited to Italy. (dpa)