Gold Apollo Co., Ltd. is a Taiwanese manufacturer of wireless paging systems. In September 2024, some 5,000 Gold Apollo AR924 pagers exploded simultaneously in Lebanon.
Founded by Taiwanese businessman Hsu Ching-kuang (許清光) in October 1995, Gold Apollo produces POCSAG/FLEX pager. Initially, the company only produced numeric pagers and focused on the domestic market. However, in 1999, when Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom announced it would no longer issue pager numbers, the pager market collapsed overnight. In response, Gold Apollo began actively seeking to export its products abroad. In 2011, Gold Apollo became one of the few global experts in pagers, ranking as the largest pager company in the North American market and the second largest in Europe.[1][2]
On 17 September 2024, some 5,000 Gold Apollo AR924 pagers exploded simultaneously in Lebanon and parts of Syria, at around 3:30 pm local time. The pagers bleeped, then paused, then detonated, giving time for victims to bring pagers to their face to read an expected message.[3] Twenty people were killed and about 2,800 injured, two-thirds of whom required surgery to face, eyes or hands, with many amputations.[4] Injuries were predominantly to the face and hands (when a message was being viewed) or the hip (where pagers were worn).[5] The explosions appeared to be a co-ordinated attack on Hezbollah.[6][7][8]
On 18 September 2024, Gold Apollo founder Hsu Ching-kuang told reporters that the company did not manufacture the pagers in question, which were produced by BAC Consulting KFT, a company based in Budapest, Hungary, under a licensing agreement that had been in place for three years.[9][10][11][12] BAC Consulting KFT has cooperated with Gold Apollo and represents many of its products.[13]
A preliminary investigation by Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs indicates that from 2022 to August 2024, Gold Apollo exported approximately 260,000 call devices from Taiwan. Between January and August 2024, 40,929 units were shipped, primarily to Europe and the United States. No incidents of explosions similar to those reported in the media have been associated with this batch of devices, and there are no records of direct exports to Lebanon.[14] The Shilin District Prosecutors Office has launched an investigation to clarify the facts of the case thoroughly.[15]
On 19 September 2024, under the direction of the prosecutors, Taiwan's Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau summoned the company's founder, Hsu Ching-kuang, for questioning. According to the seized shipping records and the contract between Gold Apollo and BAC Consulting KFT, BAC Consulting KFT had bought multiple batches of pagers from Gold Apollo three years before. Two years before, in 2022, BAC Consulting KFT had sought permission to manufacture the pagers and use Gold Apollo's trademark, paying Gold Apollo US$15 for each one.[16][17][18][19]
An Associated Press article published in September 2024 reported that, "An American official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Israel briefed the U.S. on the operation — where small amounts of explosives hidden in the pagers were detonated."[20]
Leon Panetta, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, commented during an interview with CBS News in September 2024 that, "I don’t think there’s any question that it’s a form of terrorism."[21]
BAC Consulting KFT's CEO Cristiana Bársony-Arcidiacono confirmed the company's collaboration with Gold Apollo and stated that they do not manufacture pagers but serve only as an intermediary, without disclosing details about the contracted manufacturer.[22][23]
Around 16 October 2024, the YouTube account of Apollo Systems HK, the subsidary of BAC Consulting KFT,[24] was deleted for an unknown reason. Their channel included videos detailing the features of the AR924 Alphanumeric Pagers used in the attacks, as well as other Gold Apollo product demonstrations.