Kerala-Born Businessman Linked To Hezbollah Pager Blasts? What Probe Indicates

Rinson Jose, from Kerala's Wayanad, went to Norway to pursue higher studies and is now a Norwegian citizen.

The name of an Indian emigrant to Norway has cropped up in the investigation into the pager blasts aimed at Hezbollah operatives, which killed 12 people in Lebanon and left thousands injured. Now a Norwegian citizen, Rinson Jose migrated to the country from Wayanad in Kerala and reports had initially suggested that a company owned by the 37-year-old in Bulgaria was involved in the supply of the pagers to the militant group.

Initial investigations had revealed that the pagers, which had reportedly been modified by Mossad to hide three grams of explosives in each device, were manufactured by a Taiwan-based company, Gold Apollo. In a statement, the company said, however, that the pager model used in the blast, AR-924, was actually manufactured and sold by BAC Consulting KFT, a company based in Hungary's Budapest, which had been authorised to use its trademark. 

Then, on Thursday, two days after the pagers exploded, Bulgarian state security agency DANS said it was coordinating with the country's interior ministry and probing the role of a company, whose name was later revealed to be Norta Global Ltd. The company, which was registered in Sofia in 2022, was found to be owned by a Norwegian, Rinson Jose.