Taiwanese authorities have ruled out the possibility that the pagers weaponised to attack Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon were manufactured on the island. This follows prosecutors questioning two representatives of the alleged source of the AR-924 models.
These devices appear to have been laced with explosives at some point in the supply chain before being simultaneously detonated, killing at least 10 Hezbollah fighters and causing thousands of injuries.
With a judicial investigation in progress, Gold Apollo executive Hsu Ching-kuang claimed that the equipment was produced under licence by Hungarian firm BAC Consulting KFT, which Gold Apollo had permitted to use its trademark on the specific equipment. In turn, BAC has been revealed as a shell company with no manufacturing base, with its own chief executive describing the firm as an ‘intermediate’ or—as a Hungarian government spokesman described BAC Consulting KFT—”a trading intermediary, with no manufacturing or operational site in Hungary.”
According to the prosecutors’ office in Taipei’s Shilin district on Friday:
Our country takes the case very seriously … We will clarify the facts as soon as possible such as whether Taiwanese companies are involved or not.
While Gold Apollo has exported 260,000 pagers in the past two years, “there has never been an explosion” and no record of direct exports to Lebanon.
Subsequent explosions in Lebanon on Wednesday, September 18th, involving walkie-talkies have brought the death toll to at least 37, with nearly 3,000 reported wounded. In response, the terror group has sworn to retaliate against Israel, believed to be responsible for the exploding communication devices.
