Taiwanese authorities conducted searches at four locations on Thursday as part of an investigation into the origins of pagers that exploded while in use by Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon. This incident has raised significant concerns about where these devices came from and how they ended up with Hezbollah.
The explosions, which occurred on Tuesday and Wednesday, resulted in at least 37 fatalities, according to Lebanon’s health minister.
The New York Times reported that the Zionist entity might have embedded explosive materials in a shipment of pagers from Taiwan’s Gold Apollo, citing anonymous American officials.
Gold Apollo has vehemently denied manufacturing the explosive devices. In response, Taiwanese prosecutors initiated an investigation on Wednesday to trace the source of these pagers.
“We instructed the Investigation Bureau’s national security station to interview two witnesses and search four locations,” said the Taipei prosecutor’s office in a statement on Thursday. The office did not disclose the specific locations or individuals involved.
“They cooperated in providing relevant documents and information,” the statement added, noting that the investigation continues.
Earlier on Wednesday, Gold Apollo’s CEO, Hsu Ching-kuang, asserted that the pagers were “100 percent not” made in Taiwan.
On Thursday, Hsu accompanied investigators to the company’s offices in New Taipei City but declined to comment further, stating, “the case is under investigation.”
Gold Apollo previously suggested that its Budapest-based partner, BAC Consulting KFT, might be responsible, allowing them to use its trademark. However, a Hungarian government spokesperson clarified that BAC Consulting KFT acts merely as a trading intermediary and does not have any manufacturing operations in Hungary.
Meanwhile, Bulgarian authorities are also investigating the possible involvement of a Sofia-based company in the delivery of the pagers, adding another layer of mystery to this complex case.
