Taiwan investigates company linked to explosive pagers used in Lebanon attack
Shafaq News/ Taiwanese prosecutors have questioned four witnesses as part of an ongoing investigation into a local company’s connection to explosive pagers that detonated in Lebanon last week.
Thousands of pager devices and hundreds of ICOM V82 radios exploded across several regions in Lebanon due to Israeli cyber attacks, killing 37 people and injuring more than 3,450 others. Most of the casualties were Hezbollah members.
A spokesperson for the Shilin District Prosecutor’s Office in Taipei, which is leading the investigation into Gold Apollo, the Taiwanese firm in question, confirmed that a current and former employee were among the witnesses interrogated, along with two others last week. The prosecutor emphasized the urgency of resolving the case but declined to reveal the identities of those questioned or whether further interrogations were planned.
Last week, prosecutors questioned Gold Apollo’s founder and president, Hsu Cheng-kuang, as well as Teresa Wu, the sole employee of a related company, Apollo Systems.
Gold Apollo, based in Taiwan, has denied manufacturing the pagers used in the attack, claiming that “a Hungarian company, B.A.C., is licensed to use its brand.” The Taiwanese government also stated that “the devices were not produced in Taiwan,” according to Reuters.
Security sources have accused Israel of being behind the pager explosions, which have intensified the ongoing conflict with Hezbollah. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement.
The circumstances surrounding the placement of explosives in the pagers, when they were rigged, and how they were detonated remotely remain unresolved. Investigations have expanded to other countries, including Taiwan, Bulgaria, Norway, and Romania, in a bid to uncover more information.
