Taiwanese firm Gold Apollo is denying a New York Times report that the pagers that exploded and wounded thousands of Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon on Tuesday were purchased from it.
According to the Times report, the communication devices were tampered with before reaching Lebanon.
The company said following the Times report that the models being carried by Hezbollah members were made and sold by a franchisee in Hungary, naming the partner as Budapest-based BAC Consulting KFT.
“According to our cooperation agreement, we authorized BAC to use our trademark to manufacture and sell in specific areas, but the development and production are solely their responsibility,” the company said. The model sold by BAC and that exploded was the AR-924, according to Gold Apollo.
Taiwan’s Commerce Ministry said on Wednesday morning that the communication devices that exploded were “processed” after being exported and that there was no record of exports from Taiwan to Lebanon that match the shipment. Taiwanese police also reportedly raided the Gold Apollo offices in New Taipei City.