Bulgaria denies Sofia-based firm had any link to pager attacks in Lebanon

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) – Bulgaria is hitting back at allegations that a Sofia-based company was connected to deadly pager attacks earlier this week in Lebanon, as reported by local media on Thursday.

The Bulgarian State National Security Agency announced that Norta Global, a company registered in the capital Sofia, had no connection to the pagers, which exploded in Lebanon on Tuesday, killing dozens of people and injuring thousands, the state-run BTA news agency reported.

“No customs procedures were carried out for the products described in the incident to go through Bulgarian territory, and no such procedures were found,” said an official statement by the agency.

The agency also said that in cooperation with the National Revenue Agency and Interior Ministry, it is looking into whether a company registered in Bulgaria supplied communications equipment to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Bulgarian National Television also reported that the company in question has no activities in Bulgaria.

On Wednesday evening, Hungarian news outlet Telex reported that Sofia-based Norta Global bought the pagers, which were eventually sold to Hezbollah via Taiwan, and that any involvement by a Hungarian company was minimal, as the devices were never actually in Hungary, citing government sources.

According to the sources, Budapest-based BAC Consulting, initially identified as the company which sold the devices to Hezbollah, was simply an intermediary in the transaction, it added.

It added that Bulgarian company Norta Global, founded in April 2022, is owned by a Norwegian individual.

Like the Hungarian firm, Norta Global is registered to a headquarters service provider. There are a total of 196 companies registered at the provider's address. On paper, it is engaged in project management, but it is presumed not to actually manufacture anything.

- Trojan Horse devices

Thousands of pagers exploded in the capital Beirut and across Lebanon on Tuesday, killing 12 people, including two children, and injuring 2,800 others. A second wave of blasts of two-way radios on Wednesday killed 20 people and injured 450 others.

News reports suggested the devices had explosives planted inside them before reaching Lebanon, which raises the question if any of the companies involved in their sale knew that they were deadly Trojan Horse devices, meant to kill or maim their unsuspecting owners.

Lebanese group Hezbollah has accused Israel of being behind the device explosions and vowed retaliation.

There has been no Israeli comment on the blasts, coming amid an escalation in cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah since the start of Israel’s deadly war on the Gaza Strip, which has killed over 41,000 people, mostly women and children, following a cross-border attack by Hamas last Oct. 7.​​​​​​​