Traces of unidentified substances at the Saudi Consulate General in Istanbul where journalist Jamal Khashoggi disappeared two weeks ago have been painted over, the Hürriyet Daily News reported, citing Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan
Speaking after Turkish police entered the consulate for the first time since the disappearance and searched the premises for nine hours, Erdoğan also told reporters that they were looking into toxic substances at the mission.
Turkish officials told Reuters that authorities have an audio recording indicating that Khashoggi was killed in the consulate and have shared the evidence with such countries as Saudi Arabia and the United States.
Saudi Arabia has denied any role in Khashoggi’s disappearance.
“My hope is that we can reach conclusions that will give us a reasonable opinion as soon as possible because the investigation is looking into many things such as toxic substances and those substances being removed by painting them over,” Erdoğan told reporters in Ankara.
A Turkish diplomatic source said the investigators planned to widen their search on Tuesday to the residence of the Saudi consul general.
Turkish television channels previously aired footage of a large vehicle leaving the consulate two hours after Khashoggi vanished and parking it at the consul’s residence.