Police search villas in northwest Turkey for ''Khashoggi remains''
Ankara, Nov 26: Turkish police on Monday were searching two villas in a northwestern province for the remains of murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, state media reported.
The officers began searching a two-storey building in Termal district in Yalova with the help of sniffer dogs and drones on Monday morning, and the investigation later widened to the adjacent villa, state news agency Anadolu said.
Crime scene investigators were inspecting a well in the garden of the first villa in Samanli village, Anadolu reported, while images showed fire trucks at the scene.
Khashoggi, a contributor for The Washington Post, was killed by Saudi officials on October 2 during a visit to the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul for paperwork before his wedding.
His body has not been found and his death has triggered widespread international criticism of Riyadh. There have been reports in pro-government media that his remains could have been dissolved in acid.
The searches on Monday comes over two weeks after Sabah daily had reported that samples taken from the consulate drains showed traces of acid.
Turkish authorities say a team of 15 Saudi officials were sent especially to kill Khashoggi, 59, but Riyadh insists the team conducted a rogue operation.
Anadolu said some of the suspects had spoken to an unnamed Saudi citizen on the phone.
After learning this, authorities initiated the search of the Saudi businessman's villas, Anadolu added, but he was not in Turkey during the phone calls with the suspects.
Yalova governor Muammer Erol told Anadolu in a written statement that the Istanbul public prosecutor in charge of the murder investigation would provide the "necessary information" about the results of the search later.
There have been previous inspections of the Saudi consulate and the consul-general's residence in Istanbul as well as a forest in the city.
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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
