Report: Turkey seized 1,300 pagers en route to Lebanon days after pager attack
Turkish intelligence services intercepted a shipment of over 1,300 pagers in Istanbul that were en route to Lebanon, just days after an Israeli Mossad operation targeting similar devices held by Hezbollah members, Turkish news outlet Sabah reported Tuesday.
According to the report, Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) received information about the shipment and began inspecting ports and airports, eventually discovering that the delivery was scheduled for September 27.
The shipment reportedly arrived in Turkey on September 16, one day before a series of pager explosions occurred in Lebanon. It consisted of four pallets sent from Taiwan via a cargo flight from Hong Kong. The 61 boxes, weighing approximately 850 kilograms, were declared as “food processors” on the shipping manifest.
Turkish security forces, accompanied by a bomb disposal unit, opened the boxes and discovered 1,300 pagers, including devices manufactured by Taiwanese company Gold Apollo, alongside about 710 detonators, batteries and cables. The shipment also contained 144 mini handheld blenders, cameras and additional electronic components.
The pagers were immediately sent to a lab, where Turkish officials claimed they found “a highly flammable white explosive substance -- approximately 3 grams (0.1 oz) -- hidden inside the batteries.”
Similar material was reportedly found in the associated detonators.
The owner of the Istanbul-based company listed as the shipment’s recipient was questioned and claimed his firm provides customs consulting services rather than freight or shipping. Turkish media added that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan raised the issue in a December conversation with former Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, informing him of the seizure and destruction of the pagers.
The Israeli Mossad’s so-called “pager operation” was launched on September 17 over concerns it would soon be exposed. On the operation’s first day, Hezbollah members’ pagers detonated in Lebanon and Syria. A day later, on September 18, their walkie-talkies exploded as well.
According to a Reuters investigation published in October last year, the pagers sent to Lebanon in February 2023 contained miniature plastic explosives embedded in batteries, along with a novel detonation system that was undetectable via standard X-ray screening.
The rigged batteries were engineered to appear normal but held only about one-third the energy capacity expected for their size. Experts cited in the report noted that while a standard 35-gram (1.2 oz) battery would typically provide 8.75 watt-hours, the modified battery held just 2.22 watt-hours -- suggesting much of the internal volume was taken up by explosives.
On 17 and 18 September 2024, thousands of handheld pagers and hundreds of walkie-talkies intended for use by Hezbollah exploded simultaneously in two separate events across Lebanon and Syria, in an Israeli attack nicknamed Operation Grim Beeper.
According to an unnamed Hezbollah official, the attack took 1,500 Hezbollah fighters out of action due to injuries. According to the Lebanese government, the attack killed 42 people, including 12 civilians, and injured 4,000 civilians.
Victims’ injuries included losing fingers, hands and eyes, as well as brain shrapnel. The incident was described as Hezbollah's biggest security breach since the start of the Israel–Hezbollah conflict in October 2023.
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