DIDPress: Turkish media reported the discovery of a suspicious shipment containing 1,300 pagers embedded with explosives, originating from Hong Kong and destined for Lebanon via Istanbul.
According to the newspaper Sabah, the shipment was inspected on September 20, 2024 (30 Sunbula 1403 in the Persian calendar) following security alerts from Turkey’s intelligence agency. Security officials, after thorough inspections at airports and ports, identified a consignment consisting of four pallets and 61 boxes weighing 850 kilograms, shipped by the company SMT Global Lojistik Limited. The cargo was scheduled to be transported to Beirut on Turkish Airlines flight TK830.
The shipment was labeled as containing “food cutting devices,” but detailed examinations revealed it included 300 pagers, 710 desktop chargers, and related cables. Crucially, the batteries of these pagers were found to contain three grams of a white explosive substance, designed to detonate when the device’s temperature increased.
The case was promptly referred to Turkey’s Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, which ordered the seizure of the shipment and mandated specialized laboratory tests. Investigations into the true nature and intended destination of the consignment are ongoing.