Japan’s Icom says it stopped making walkie-talkies reportedly linked to Lebanon blasts
The company said the production of model IC-V82, which appeared to be the version involved in the explosions, was phased out in 2014
“The IC-V82 is a handheld radio that was produced and exported, including to the Middle East, from 2004 to October 2014. It was discontinued about 10 years ago, and since then, it has not been shipped from our company,” Icom said in a statement.
“The production of the batteries needed to operate the main unit has also been discontinued, and a hologram seal to distinguish counterfeit products was not attached, so it is not possible to confirm whether the product shipped from our company,” it said.
It added that products for overseas markets are sold exclusively through its authorised distributors, and that its export programme is based on Japanese security trade control regulations.
“All of our radios are manufactured at our production subsidiary, Wakayama Icom Inc., in Wakayama prefecture, under a strict management system … so no parts other than those specified by our company are used in a product. In addition, all of our radios are manufactured at the same factory, and we do not manufacture them overseas,” the statement said.
04:22
Taiwan company denies making pagers that detonated in Lebanon, Hezbollah blames Israel
In the second wave of device explosions in as many days, 20 people died and more than 450 were wounded on Wednesday in Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon, officials said.