Kerala-born Norwegian businessman linked to Hezbollah pager blasts in Lebanon

Kerala-born Norwegian businessman Rinson Jose has been accused of selling pagers linked to the Lebanon blasts through his company Norta Global, reported Hungarian news site Telex.

Norta Global, which is based in Sofia, Bulgaria, also deleted its website on Thursday, which advertised their work on technology consultancy. The Norta office also could not be found at its registered address.

Rinson Jose was contacted by news agency Reuters but declined to offer any comment.

The Bulgarian national security agency launched an investigation into the claims and on Friday denied that the firm had any involvement in the delivery of pagers to the Hezbollah.

They stated that the owner of the firm had “not carried out any transactions linked to the sale or purchase of the merchandise” or that “fall under laws on terrorism financing”.

The Kerala Police and central government agencies have conducted a background check on Jose’s family in his native village of Ondayangadi in Kerala, reported The Times of India.

Rinson, son of tailor Moothedath Jose and Gracy, lives in Norway with his wife. His brother works in the UK and his sister is based is a nurse in Ireland. His uncle Thankachan told TOI that the family had been unable to contact him for the past three days.

While Bulgarian authorities have cleared Rinson Jose’s involvement, Norway’s intelligence agency PST and the Oslo police are still investigating the matter.

Apart from his work as the owner of Norta Global, Rinson’s LinkedIn reveals that he has been working at the Oslo-based DN Media group for five years and has several years of experience working with brands and publications.

The deadly pager blasts which shook Lebanon and Syria have been connected to several companies globally. The pagers had the brand name of the company Gold Apollo, based in Taiwan, reported AFP.

However, the president of Gola Apollo claimed that the pagers were made by a Hungarian company – BAC Consulting – under a licensing agreement. However, BAC Consulting did not carry out any activities and did not have an office at its registered address, according to Telex.

Norta Global came under the radar after it was found to have links with BAC Consulting.

The explosions of pagers in Lebanon, which were supposedly meant to target Hezbollah operatives, led to 12 people dead and hundreds severely injured. Similar blasts in Syria killed 14 people.

The blasts have been linked to Israel, with Hezbollah officials vowing to retaliate, in the ongoing conflict between the two groups.