Miranda Bryant
The Guardian / September 26, 2024
International warrant issued for Rinson Jose, who disappeared during work trip to US last week.
Stockholm – Police in Norway have put out an international search warrant for a Norwegian Indian man in connection with the sale of pagers to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah that exploded last week, killing dozens of people.
Rinson Jose, 39, the founder of a Bulgarian company that is alleged to be part of the pager supply chain, went missing during a work trip to the US last week.
On Thursday, Oslo police said: “Yesterday, the Oslo police district received a missing person report in connection with the pager case. A missing persons case has been opened and we have sent out an international warrant for the person.”
Jose declined to comment on the pagers when he was contacted by Reuters on 18 September and hung up after being asked about the Bulgarian business. He then failed to respond to multiple calls and messages.
His employer, DN Media Group, said Jose, who works in the Norwegian media company’s sales department, departed for a conference in Boston on 17 September and since the following day the company had been unable to contact him.
According to Bulgaria’s corporate registry, Jose founded Norta Global Ltd, based in the capital, Sofia, in 2022.
Bulgarian authorities have investigated the company’s role in supplying the pagers but did not find evidence that they were made in or exported from Bulgaria.
Jose is a Norwegian citizen and was born in another country, the broadcaster NRK reported.
The unprecedented pager attacks, which have been blamed on Israel, led to the death of 12 people, including two children, and wounded up to 2,800 others.
The following day, 25 people were killed and more than 450 wounded when walkie-talkies exploded in Lebanese supermarkets, at funerals and on streets.
Miranda Bryant is The Guardian’s Nordic correspondent
