Gold Apollo denies manufacturing pagers linked to Lebanon detonations

The product was not ours as it was only that it had our brand on it: Hsu Ching-Kuang

Web Desk

18 Sep, 2024

World

Hsu Ching-kuang, founder and president of Gold Apollo, speaks to the media at their office in New Taipei City, Taiwan, September 18, 2024. REUTERS

Taiwan’s Gold Apollo clarified that the pagers involved in the detonations in Lebanon on Tuesday were not manufactured by them, but rather by a company named BAC, which holds a license to use Gold Apollo’s brand.

Apollo stated that the AR-924 model was produced and sold exclusively by BAC. Initially, Hsu, a company representative, suggested that the licensed firm was located in Europe but later refrained from disclosing BAC’s specific location. During Hsu’s meeting with reporters, police officials arrived at the company’s premises.

“We only provide brand trademark authorization and have no involvement in the design or manufacturing of this product,” the statement said.

“The product was not ours. It was only that it had our brand on it,’ Gold Apollo founder and president, Hsu Ching-Kuang stated.

The blasts, which resulted in at least nine fatalities and nearly 3,000 injuries, were linked to pagers used by Hezbollah members. Images of the destroyed devices examined by Reuters indicated they had features consistent with Gold Apollo’s products. A senior Lebanese security source mentioned that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Gold Apollo.

According to sources familiar with Hezbollah’s operations, the group had adopted the use of pagers to avoid detection by Israeli forces. Hsu expressed uncertainty over how the devices could have been rigged to explode.

Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, announced that it was conducting a “security and scientific investigation” into the incidents. A senior Lebanese security source, along with another source, claimed that Israel’s Mossad spy agency had planted explosives within the 5,000 pagers imported by Hezbollah months before the detonations.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military regarding the blasts. The attack occurred just hours after Israel had announced its intention to broaden the objectives of the war, which had been ignited by the Hamas attacks on October 7, to also target Hezbollah.

Lebanon’s health ministry had placed hospitals across the country on “maximum alert” and instructed citizens to stay away from wireless communication devices.

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