Sudan’s Hemedti Reveals Receiving Death Threats

Sudan’s Deputy Head of the Sovereign Council Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo | Getty Images
Sudan’s Deputy Head of the Sovereign Council Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo | Getty Images
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Sudan’s Hemedti Reveals Receiving Death Threats

Sudan’s Deputy Head of the Sovereign Council Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo | Getty Images
Sudan’s Deputy Head of the Sovereign Council Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo | Getty Images

Sudan’s Deputy Head of the Sovereign Council Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, accused unnamed parties of threatening his life and warned against gold trafficking mafias and groups that are working to put a stoke in the wheel of the country’s economy.

Hemedti, speaking on the occasion of exporting two tons of gold and inaugurating the Sudanese Gold Exchange, said that there are parties working to disrupt the progress of the Sudanese economy.

Hemedti accused the ‘mafia’ of working to lower the value of the Sudanese pound and of buying foreign currency at any price.

“The country is controlled by a ‘mafia,’ a huge mob, and we must fight this mafia because the country’s progress is at stake,” Hemedti said.

It is worth noting that Hemedti heads the emergency economic committee which was established last March to help the country’s economy recover from a downturn. The committee is tasked with undertaking strict and decisive measures to help fix economic imbalances.

Hemedti warned groups he said had delivered life threats against him and said they were working to destroy the country, its social fabric, and unity. He vowed to stand up to these groups and to fight them no matter what.

Hemedti called on confronting the mafias and gangs in the country who are working to sabotage progress and to present them to trial. He also warned of plans to divide Sudan.

He violently attacked those criticizing his position as head of the emergency economic committee.

Hemedti reaffirmed that he doesn’t support any political party and that his only target was to save the country from collapsing.

He called on uniting the national front in the fight against corruption, criticizing companies that work in mining gold and which evade taxes and deny the economy the proceeds of exports.

Hemedti revealed steps that include strict policies to prevent tampering and smuggling gold, starting with the activation of the principle of accounting, reviewing laws and legislations related to gold production and export, and reviewing licenses of foreign concession companies.



Hezbollah Claims it Foiled Plot to Smuggle Explosive-Laden Pagers in Türkiye

Pagers on display at the Gold Apollo company building in New Taipei City, Taiwan, September 18, 2024 (Reuters)
Pagers on display at the Gold Apollo company building in New Taipei City, Taiwan, September 18, 2024 (Reuters)
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Hezbollah Claims it Foiled Plot to Smuggle Explosive-Laden Pagers in Türkiye

Pagers on display at the Gold Apollo company building in New Taipei City, Taiwan, September 18, 2024 (Reuters)
Pagers on display at the Gold Apollo company building in New Taipei City, Taiwan, September 18, 2024 (Reuters)

Hezbollah has revealed alerting Turkish authorities to a shipment of booby-trapped pagers at Istanbul Airport last September, saying its tip-off prevented a major attack. Turkish media previously reported that national intelligence forces had intercepted a shipment of electronic devices rigged with explosives en route from Istanbul to Lebanon.

According to Turkish sources, the operation took place on September 20, just three days after a deadly incident in Lebanon in which hundreds of communication pagers used by Hezbollah reportedly exploded, killing around 40 people and injuring hundreds. Many of the injuries involved damage to eyes and limbs. Reports at the time indicated that approximately 3,000 devices had detonated. Israel later claimed responsibility for the attack.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed in April that Israeli intelligence had orchestrated the sabotage. Speaking at a conference in Jerusalem, Netanyahu revealed that Mossad had tracked pagers Hezbollah sent for scanning in Iran and targeted the scanning equipment beforehand. “We destroyed the scanner and the operator,” he said.

Second Shipment Thwarted

The intercepted shipment in Türkiye was discovered on September 20, after Turkish intelligence received a tip-off about a suspicious cargo scheduled for transfer to Beirut. The shipment had arrived from Hong Kong on September 16 via the Taiwanese company SMT Global Logistics and was falsely declared as containing food processors. It was scheduled to be flown to Lebanon on September 27.

Upon inspection, Turkish authorities found 61 boxes weighing over 850 kilograms. The contents included 1,300 “Gold Apollo 924 R3 GP” pagers, 710 desk chargers, and various electronics such as mixers and audio devices. Detailed analysis revealed that explosive materials had been injected into the pagers’ batteries, allowing for remote detonation via electronic signal or short circuit.

The pagers were traced back to Taiwanese manufacturer Gold Apollo, reportedly linked to a Hungarian company, Bac Consulting KFT, which Turkish media suggest may be a front for intelligence operations.

Hezbollah Confirms it was Behing the Tip-off

Although Turkish authorities did not publicly name the source of the intelligence, Hezbollah confirmed its role. Speaking to Lebanon’s LBCI channel, Hezbollah media official Youssef Zein said the party had warned Turkish officials of a “booby-trapped pager shipment” at Istanbul Airport that was bound for Lebanon.

Pagers are small wireless communication devices used for receiving text messages and alerts and are commonly deployed in field operations. A Lebanese security source stated that Hezbollah had previously ordered 5,000 such devices from Gold Apollo in early 2024.

Israeli media reports claimed the attack on the devices was the result of years of work by Mossad to infiltrate Hezbollah’s communication infrastructure, both to spy on its operations and to physically disrupt its networks.

Israel last week honored three Mossad operatives allegedly involved in the operation. Their identities were kept secret, and they appeared masked at a torch-lighting ceremony during Independence Day celebrations.