Bulgaria probes firm’s possible link to Hezbollah pagers

Elod Novak, member of the Committee on Defense and Law Enforcement tries to get into the office building where BAC Consulting KFT is said to be registered, in Budapest on Sept. 18, 2024. (Reuters)

• “Checks are underway with the tax authorities and the interior ministry,” Bulgaria’s state security agency said
• The agency said there was no record the devices had entered the European Union legally via Bulgaria

SOFIA: Bulgaria was looking into the possible involvement of a Sofia-based company in delivering pagers that exploded while being used by Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon, authorities said Thursday.
Hundreds of electronic devices detonated across Lebanon in unprecedented attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday, killing at least 37 people and wounding more than 2,900 others, according to Lebanon’s health minister.
Questions and speculation have swirled over where the devices came from and how they were supplied to Hezbollah.
“Checks are underway with the tax authorities and the interior ministry to determine the possible role of a company registered in Bulgaria in the supply of communications equipment to Hezbollah,” Bulgaria’s state security agency (SANS) said in a statement.
The agency said there was no record the devices had entered the European Union legally via Bulgaria, adding customs had not registered the “said goods.”
The comments came after an article on the Hungarian Telex news site quoted anonymous sources saying that a Sofia-based company called Norta Global had imported the pagers and arranged their delivery to Hezbollah.
Taiwan’s Gold Apollo — whose trademark appeared on the pagers — has denied producing the devices and instead pointed the finger at its Budapest-based partner BAC Consulting KFT.
But Hungary said the company “is a trading intermediary, with no manufacturing or operational site in Hungary.”
Norta Global, which has been listed on the Sofia trade register since April 2022, could not be immediately reached.
The company, owned by Norwegian Rinson Jose, recorded revenue of 650,000 euros ($725,000) last year for management consultancy services.