Lebanese troopers stand guard at a road that results in the American College hospital the place they bring about wounded individuals whose handheld pager exploded in Beirut, Lebanon on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photograph/Hassan Ammar)
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwanese firm Gold Apollo mentioned Wednesday that it licensed its model on the pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria however that one other firm primarily based in Budapest manufactured them.
The pagers had been manufactured by BAC Consulting KFT, primarily based in Hungary’s capital, in response to an announcement launched Wednesday by Gold Apollo.
Gold Apollo mentioned the AR-924 pagers utilized by the Hezbollah militant group had been produced and bought by an organization referred to as BAC that was licensed to make use of Gold Apollo’s trademark in some areas.
“In accordance with the cooperation settlement, we authorize BAC to make use of our model trademark for product gross sales in designated areas, however the design and manufacturing of the merchandise are solely the accountability of BAC,” the assertion learn.
Consultants imagine explosive materials was put into the pagers previous to their supply and use in a classy provide chain infiltration.
Article continues after this commercial
Gold Apollo chair Hsu Ching-kuang instructed journalists Wednesday that his firm has had an authorization settlement with BAC for the previous three years.
Article continues after this commercial
“This firm has cooperated with us and represents a lot of our merchandise,” Hsu mentioned. “Additionally they needed to make pagers and requested me if they may use our firm’s model identify.”
He added the merchandise concerned within the explosion had been designed by BAC.
Hsu and different Gold Apollo representatives didn’t disclose extra particulars about BAC and didn’t present any proof of the organizations’ settlement.
When pressed for data on BAC, Hsu grew to become quiet and left.