OSLO — Norway's security police (PST) have begun a preliminary investigation into reports that a Norwegian-owned company was linked to the sale of pagers to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah that exploded last week.
Over a two-day period last week, thousands of pagers, as well as walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah operatives, blew up in Lebanon, killing at least 39 people and wounding thousands. The attacks were widely believed to have been carried out by Israel, which has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement.
It is not clear how and when the pagers were weaponised so they could be remotely detonated. Taiwan, Hungary and Bulgaria are already investigating possible links in the supply chain.
"PST has initiated a preliminary investigation to determine whether there are reasons for starting a (full) investigation on the basis of allegations in the media that a Norwegian-owned company may have been involved in the dissemination of pagers to Hezbollah," PST lawyer Haris Hrenovica said in a text message to Reuters.
Earlier, he told Norwegian news agency NTB that the police had no specific suspicions at this time.
The Bulgarian authorities said last week they were investigating Sofia-based company Norta Global after a Hungarian media report that it was involved in facilitating the sale of the pagers.
The company was founded in 2022 by a Norwegian citizen, Rinson Jose, 39, according to Bulgaria's corporate registry. He signed the company's articles of association at the Bulgarian consulate in Oslo, the documents reviewed by Reuters showed.
Jose's LinkedIn profile shows he has been employed by DN Media Group since Feb 2020. DN Media Group said he worked in the sales department, and that he left for a conference in Boston on Sept 17.
He last contacted his colleagues by email on Sept 18, according to Norwegian media. His employer told Reuters it had not been able to reach him since.
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