Norway issues search request for person linked to Lebanon pagers

Norwegian police have issued an international search request for Rinson Jose, a Norwegian-Indian man linked to the sale of pagers to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah that exploded on Sept 17, they said on Sept 26.

Jose, 39, disappeared while on a work trip to the US last week.

He is a founder of a Bulgarian company that was reportedly part of the pager supply chain.

“Yesterday, Sept 25, the Oslo police district received a missing person report in connection with the pager case,” Oslo police said, in an email to Reuters.

“A missing persons case has been opened, and we have sent out an international warrant for the person,” it added.

Jose declined to comment on the pagers when reached by phone on Sept 18, and hung up when asked about the Bulgarian business.

He did not return repeated calls and text messages.

Jose’s Norwegian employer, DN Media Group, said he left for a conference in Boston on Sept 17, and the company has not been able to reach him since Sept 18.

He works at the group’s sales department.

In 2022, Jose founded Sofia-based company Norta Global, Bulgaria’s corporate registry shows.

Bulgaria has investigated the company’s role in the supply of booby-trapped pagers, but has found no evidence that they were made or exported from the country.