Police in capital Ankara have discovered a ring of human smugglers who helped people with criminal records flee to Germany.

Four suspects were detained yesterday for arranging passports originally reserved for people traveling abroad in an official capacity, to a group of ineligible people by falsely showing them as members of an association for the disabled.

The smuggled people would purportedly attend an event for the disabled in Germany.

Police are now investigating the association. Last month, police launched a probe into a group of people who posed as folk dancers to travel to Hungary where they allegedly sought asylum.