The Norwegian Security Police (PST) has launched a preliminary investigation into reports that a Norwegian-owned company was involved in a 2008… Pagers were sent to Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, who were killed in the explosion A police prosecutor told Reuters last week.
Thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah operatives exploded in Lebanon over two days last week, killing at least 39 people and wounding thousands more. The attacks are believed to have been carried out by Israel, which has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement.
It is unclear when or how the pagers were weaponized so they could be detonated remotely. Taiwan, Hungary and Bulgaria are already investigating possible links in the supply chain.
“The PST has launched a preliminary inquiry to determine if there are any reasons to launch a (full) investigation based on allegations made in the media that a Norwegian-owned company may be involved in distributing pagers to Hezbollah,” PST lawyer Haris Hrenovica said in a message to Reuters.
Earlier he told Norwegian news agency NTB that police had no specific suspects at this time.
Bulgarian authorities said last week they were investigating Sofia-based company Norta Global Ltd following reports in Hungarian media that the company was involved in pager sales.
According to Bulgaria’s corporate registry, the company was founded in 2022 by Rinson Jos, a 39-year-old Norwegian citizen. Documents reviewed by Reuters showed he signed the company’s articles of association at the Bulgarian consulate in Oslo.
Jose declined to comment on the pager when reached by phone last Wednesday and hung up when asked about the Bulgarian business. He did not respond to repeated calls and text messages.
When Reuters tried to contact him on Tuesday this week the call was forwarded to an answering service.
Jose’s LinkedIn profile shows that he has been employed with DN Media Group since February 2020. DN Media Group said he works in the sales department and that he left for a conference in Boston on September 17.
According to Norwegian media, he last contacted his colleagues via email on September 18. His employer told Reuters that he has not been reached since.
Reuters found no evidence of Norta Global having any links to DN Media Group.