TURKISH authorities are examining motorway cameras in the search for a black van they believe carried the body of Jamal Khashoggi from the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last week – one of six cars investigators say belonged to a Saudi hit squad thought to be behind the suspected murder of the dissident journalist.

Officials say the convoy left the consulate around two hours after Khashoggi entered. Security camera footage shows boxes being loaded into the van, which carried diplomatic number plates.

After leaving the consulate grounds, three cars turned left onto a main road while the remaining three turned right.

Investigators say one of the vehicles, a van with blacked-out windows, has become the focus of the investigation, and was briefly tracked to a nearby motorway.

Nearly a week since Khashoggi disappeared, Recep Tayyip Erdogan stepped up his calls for Riyadh to explain what happened to the high-profile critic of the Saudi leadership.

The Turkish president had struck a measured tone when pressed on Khashoggi, while allowing government officials and state media to drip-feed allegations. Details of the convoy were disclosed by the pro-government Daily Sabah newspaper.

“We have to get an outcome from this investigation as soon as possible,” Erdogan said from Budapest. “The consulate officials cannot save themselves by simply saying: ‘He has left.’”

He said he was personally following the case but had no new evidence to table.

Senior officials in Ankara remain convinced Khashoggi was killed by a Saudi state hit squad who was sent to Istanbul to abduct or kill him, and lying in wait when he arrived at the consulate last Tuesday afternoon.

It was Khashoggi’s second visit to finalize his divorce, after being told the previous Friday that his papers were not in order. His fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, had waited outside.

Flight records show two Saudi planes arrived at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport Oct. 2 and departed separately that same day, hours after Khashoggi was last seen.

Saudi authorities continue to insist they played no role in Khashoggi’s disappearance. They acknowledge that a “security delegation” was sent to Istanbul on Saturday but have not offered a reason for the journey.  (SD-Agencies)