A Japanese company, Icom, has distanced itself from walkie-talkies bearing its logo that exploded in Lebanon, killing at least 20 people and injuring hundreds more. According to reports, the devices appear to be IC-V82 transceivers made by Icom. However, the company claims it discontinued production of these devices a decade ago.
Icom stated that it has not produced or exported IC-V82s, nor the batteries needed to operate them, for 10 years. The company also highlighted that all its radios are manufactured at the same factory in Japan and only sells products for overseas markets via authorized distributors.
A sales executive at Icom’s US subsidiary told the Associated Press that the exploded radio devices in Lebanon appear to be knockoff products that were not made by the company, adding that it is easy to find counterfeit versions online.
Icom has denied any involvement with the walkie-talkies used in the blasts, and an investigation into the matter is underway. The incident is part of a series of explosions involving Asian companies this week, including pagers seemingly linked to Taiwanese firm Gold Apollo, which killed at least 12 people and injured over 2,000.
It remains unclear how or when these devices were compromised and whether some are simply old Icom IC-V82s or counterfeit products.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj6ezre8xr4o