Hungary, Bulgaria, Taiwan and Japan: Following the exploding radio and pager trail
Israel hit Lebanon with two extraordinary attacks this week, detonating booby-trapped pagers and radios belonging to Hezbollah.
On Tuesday afternoon, thousands of pagers exploded across the country, killing at least 14 people.
On Wednesday, walkie-talkies blew up, including at the funerals of some of those who died the previous day, killing at least 20 people. Thousands more were wounded across both attacks.
As is usual in operations carried out abroad, Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its alleged involvement in the attacks.
But several media organisations have reported that the Mossad secret service infiltrated Hezbollah supply chains and planted explosives in the devices.
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Here is what we know about the companies that have been linked to the pagers and walkie-talkies in question.
Gold Apollo and BAC Consulting
Images of the attack aftermath on Tuesday showed branding for Gold Apollo, a Taiwanese electronics manufacturer, on the exploded pagers.
On Friday, it was reported that Taiwanese prosecutors questioned and later released Hsu Ching-kuang, Gold Apollo’s president and founder.
Hsu said his company did not manufacture the pagers in question, and that they were made by BAC Consulting KFT, a Budapest-based company which had a licence to use its brand.
He told NPR that there had been years-long dealings between BAC and Gold Apollo, which began in 2021 when he was approached by a Taiwanese woman who he only knew as Teresa.
Hsu said Teresa claimed to represent BAC Consulting. He said he negotiated for more than two months with her, and later agreed to sell his pagers to BAC and let BAC use Gold Apollo’s trademark.
In Hungary, annual reports for BAC cited by NPR show that the company registered in May 2022 with a single owner, Cristiana Barsony-Arcidiacono, and an account balance of just over $320 as of this May.
Barsony-Arcidiacono did not respond to Middle East Eye’s request for comment earlier this week.
Speaking to NBC News, Barsony-Arcidiacono reportedly said: "I don't make the pagers. I am just the intermediate. I think you got it wrong."
The company’s website, which was working fine earlier this week, has been down since Wednesday afternoon.
According to Reuters, citing a neighbour, Barsony-Arcidiacono vacated her apartment in Budapest on Wednesday.
On Friday, her mother told AP that Barsony-Arcidiacono was currently in a safe place under the protection of Hungarian secret services, after receiving unspecified threats.
A Hungarian government spokesperson said earlier this week that the pagers were not manufactured in the country, and that BAC acted as an intermediary.
Israeli shell companies
The New York Times reported on Wednesday that BAC was in fact an Israeli front, according to three intelligence officers briefed on Israel’s operation.
The sources said that at least two other shell companies were created to mask the actual identities of the pager manufacturers: Israeli intelligence officers.
'It was negligence on the part of Hezbollah because they didn’t closely inspect or test the pagers as they should have'
- source close to Hezbollah
The report stated that BAC produced a range of ordinary pagers for other clients, but separate pagers were produced to supply to Hezbollah, which contained batteries laced with the explosive PETN.
Citing a US intelligence source, ABC News reported that Israel had been planning a “supply-chain interdiction” operation for at least 15 years.
Middle East Eye was unable to independently verify reports that BAC is an Israeli front company.
A source close to Hezbollah told MEE earlier this week: “The person who ordered the pagers is a businessman with links to the party. He was given a very good price for the devices.
“It was negligence on the part of Hezbollah because they didn’t closely inspect or test the pagers as they should have, given that they trusted the person who procured them.”
Bulgarian company
Bulgaria has also garnered attention after local media reported on Thursday that Sofia-based company Norta Global Ltd was involved in selling the pagers.
Bulgaria's state security agency said it would work with the interior ministry to investigate the alleged role of a company registered in the country.
Telex, a Hungarian news site, reported that the sale of the pagers was facilitated by Norta, citing sources.
Bulgarian national broadcaster bTV reported, citing security sources, that 1.6 million euros related to the transaction passed through Bulgaria, and was sent to Hungary.
MEE could not independently verify the claims.
Norta’s founder, Rinson Jose, who is based in Norway, declined to respond to Reuter's request for comment earlier this week. He hung up the phone when asked about Norta.
On Friday, Bulgaria’s state security agency said it had “indisputably established” that no pagers used in the attack were imported to, exported from, or made in Bulgaria.
It said neither Norta nor its Norwegian owner had traded, sold or bought the pagers within Bulgaria's jurisdiction.
Japanese device
Elsewhere, a Japanese manufacturer said it was launching an investigation after its name was on the hand-held radios that exploded on Thursday.
Icom, a telecommunications equipment manufacturer based in Osaka, said it had discontinued the device in question a decade ago.
It said it had shipped the IC-V82 transceivers, the model pictured following the second day of explosions, to overseas markets between 2004 and 2014.
The company said that “almost all” IC-V82 radios available to buy were counterfeit, and that it had been taking legal action against counterfeit manufacturers for several years.
Yoshimasa Hayashi, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, said on Thursday that the government was looking into the matter.
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