An official inquiry has concluded that police and security services in Germany bungled the hunt for three neo-Nazis who years later turned out to be the main suspects in a far-right murder spree.

Lawmakers in the eastern state of Thuringia say efforts to find the fugitive trio from their disappearance in 1998 until 2003 were a “complete disaster.”

A 1,895-page report published Thursday lists a string of errors by investigators who failed to follow up leads that could have led to their arrest.

The report says so many mistakes were made that one might even be justified in suspecting deliberate sabotage.

The group, calling itself National Socialist Underground, allegedly killed eight Turks, a Greek and a policewoman between 2000 and 2007. Its sole survivor, Beate Zschaepe, is currently on trial.

(AP)