Pager explosions in Lebanon: deciphering an unprecedented attack

The operation was launched on Tuesday, September 17, at 3:30 p.m.: thousands of simultaneous explosions took place in Lebanon. The victims, for the vast majority, were members of the Shiite militia Hezbollah. All were equipped with a Gold Apollo beeper. According to the first elements of the investigation, a few grams of explosive were placed inside each beeper.

Gold Apollo is a Taiwan-based company specializing in wireless paging systems. The company’s CEO quickly denied manufacturing and delivering the product. However, Gold Apollo acknowledged that it had signed a contract with a Hungarian company three years earlier to sell its pager. BAC Consulting, according to the Taiwanese company, was responsible for manufacturing the product.

But the company’s headquarters, located on the outskirts of Budapest, is an empty building. On the Hungarian commercial register, BAC Consulting has been active since May 2022. The only registered employee now claims to be just an intermediary and knows nothing. According to Hungarian media, BAC Consulting may have acted on behalf of a Bulgarian company, Norta Global. There is also no trace of activity at the company headquarters.

The two companies could be part of a network of front companies aimed at concealing the sponsor of the operation, a practice known to the intelligence services.