Taiwanese (Chinese) company Gold Apollo informed on September 18 that it has licensed the brand with the pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria to the company BAC Consulting KFT, based in the capital of Hungary, for production.
According to AFP, the AR-924 pagers used by Hezbollah members were manufactured and sold by BAC. BAC is authorized to use the Gold Apollo brand in some areas.
"Under the cooperation agreement, we authorize BAC to use our trademark to sell products in certain areas. The design and production of the products are entirely the responsibility of BAC," the statement said.
Experts believe the explosives were placed inside the pagers before delivery and used in a sophisticated supply chain infiltration.
Gold Apollo Chairman Hsu Ching-kuang told reporters the same day that the company has had a power of attorney agreement with BAC for the past three years.
“This company has cooperated and represented many of our products. The company also wants to produce pagers and asked me if it is possible to use our company brand name,” he said.
Mr. Hsu Ching-kuang added that the products related to the explosions in Lebanon and Syria were designed by BAC.
Mr. Hsu Ching-kuang and other representatives of Gold Apollo did not disclose further details about BAC nor did they provide any evidence of the businesses' agreement.
According to Reuters, images of the destroyed pagers in Lebanon analyzed by the news agency showed that the format and stickers on the back were similar to pagers manufactured by Gold Apollo of Taiwan (China).
A senior Lebanese security source also revealed that Hezbollah has ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo.
Also according to Reuters, Gold Apollo leader Hsu Ching-Kuang affirmed that the company did not manufacture the pager used in the explosion in Lebanon, but a company in Europe. This company has the right to use the brand of the Taiwanese company (China). "The product is not ours. Only our brand is on it," he said, emphasizing that Gold Apollo was also a victim of the incident.
