Turkey not allowed to search parked Saudi car in Istanbul on Monday - NTV

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish authorities were prevented from searching a parked Saudi diplomatic car in Istanbul on Monday because they were not given permission from the consulate, private broadcaster NTV said.

The car belonging to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul was found in the Sultangazi district of the city earlier on Monday, NTV said. Authorities would be able to search the car on Tuesday, broadcaster CNN Turk said.

The car has become a focus in the investigation into the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who went missing after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct.2. After weeks of denying knowledge of his fate, Saudi officials said the prominent journalist was killed in a "rogue operation".

Several Turkish news channels also showed purported CCTV footage of the car in the parking lot, timestamped Oct. 18. It appears to show the approach of another car with a diplomatic plate.

The footage then shows the boots of both cars open and a person appearing to move a package from one car to the other before driving away.

Reuters was not immediately able to document the authenticity of the footage or ascertain its significance, if any, in the investigation.

(Writing by Ece Toksabay; Editing by David Dolan and Alison Williams)