As the investigation into the alleged pager attack in Lebanon that killed several Hezbollah fighters picks up pace, the focus has shifted to an Indian techie based in Bulgaria. Kerala-based Rinson Jose is listed as the sole owner of Sofia-based Norta Global Ltd which allegedly facilitated the sale of the pagers to Hezbollah.
Though the devices initially looked like they were made by Taiwanese-based Gold Apollo, the company said the pagers were produced by a Hungarian company called BAC Consulting. However, new findings point to additional connections in Bulgaria and Norway.
Norta Global Ltd., a Bulgarian company registered in Sofia in April 2022, is now said to be one of the possible players who supplied the device, local media state that the Hungarian company was only involved on paper and the actual logistics were handled by Norta Global.
Rinson Jose is listed as the sole owner of Norta Global. A Keralite who migrated to Norway from the Wayanad district of Kerala, many Malayalis in Norway still remember him to be an active member of the Malayali community there. Having completed his MBA from Pondicherry University and Masters in International Social Welfare and Health Policy from Oslo, Rinson is now reportedly in the US.
However, reports claim that he has vanished after the news about the pager attacks broke. A source close to Norta Global Ltd told UK-based The Sun that the news has had his friends worried. "On learning he was linked to the Lebanon pager bombs some of his colleagues have tried to reach him, but he’s on a business trip in America and is not answering calls. He left on the trip on Tuesday, but it doesn’t make any sense why he isn’t responding to people given the seriousness of what is going on, something very strange is happening."
His family back in Wayanad's Mananthavady claim that they have no news from him. His parents are already under police radar with special branch sleuths and local police visiting the house. However, they have not been officially quizzed yet.
The family is said to be keeping indoors. They reportedly told police officials that they had no clue about their son. He used to call the family every day and when the family members tried to contact him on Friday, there was no response.
One of his relatives told Onmanorama that he had visited his home a few months back. However, none of his relatives are aware of him ever owning a company. “He never told me about a company he owns in Bulgaria or any of his business relationships there. We are very much worried as it is linked with the attack on terrorist outfits,” Aju John, a cousin of Rinson,.told onmanorama.
Bulgaria's National Security Agency has launched an investigation into the incident. However, it says the company has no employees, minimal profits, and is operating from an address linked to Agentsya Za Novy Firmy, a Bulgarian shell company agency.