POLICE SEARCH SAUDI-OWNED VILLA FOR REMAINS

Turkish police have searched a Saudi businessman’s villa where prosecutors believe Saudi operatives may have hidden the dismembered corpse of Jamal Khashoggi, authorities said Monday.

Investigators descended on the mansion and a neighbouring property south of Istanbul as part of their ongoing search for the body of the murdered Washington Post columnist.

The villa reportedly belongs to Mohammed al-Fawzan, a Saudi businessman. Istanbul’s chief prosecutor said that on Oct. 1 — a day before Khashoggi’s death — a member of the 15man Saudi hit squad called al-Fawzan.

“The chief prosecutor’s office believes that this phone call was about disappearing or hiding the body parts of the murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi,” the prosecutor said in a statement.

Al-Fawzan could not be reached for comment. There is no suggestion he knew the hit squad might try to hide the body at his property.

Turkish media reported he is close to the Saudi royal family.

Investigators focused on a well on the grounds of the villa. They drained it so they could search inside. It was not clear if they found anything significant.