Cadaver dog used to search Saudi consulate denied entry into consul-general’s residence

Melo, the Istanbul Police Department’s cadaver dog, allegedly reacted to a wardrobe inside the Saudi consulate, and was then denied permission to search the residence of the Saudi consul-general.

The cadaver dog barked in front of a wardrobe at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, and was a part of the Turkish team that searched the premises where slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi disappeared on Oct. 2. It is believed that Khashoggi’s remains, or parts of it, could have been stashed in the wardrobe at some point.

Melo has assisted in missing persons cases in Turkey’s Mersin, Adana, Hatay and Denizli in which the cadaver dog quickly located the bodies.

The claim comes as Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor Saud Al Mojeb completed his inspections in Turkey after he held three days of talks that yielded no results with Turkish officials on the killing of Khashoggi.

Mojeb carried out inspections at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, where Khashoggi was killed earlier this month, and held meetings with Turkey's public prosecutor and Turkish intelligence officials.

No clear information was obtained from Mojeb regarding 18 suspects arrested in Saudi Arabia over Khashoggi’s death, Turkish security sources said. Questions about the assassination squad were not answered satisfactorily, the sources added.