A Syrian man making a living by collecting recyclable garbage in an eastern Turkish city was hailed for taking gold jewelry he found in a dumpster to police.

Zekeriya Tütüncü, 35, a mentally handicapped man with speech impediment, discovered a bag full of golden jewelry worth about TL 25,000 ($6,650) while sifting through a dumpster in Adıyaman.

He first brought the bag home and then contacted the imam of a nearby mosque on what to do. With the imam's help, he delivered the bag to a nearby police station.

Yahya al-Recco, who accompanied Tütüncü to the police station, told reporters there that the man was his brother-in-law and first told him about the gold.

"We personally knew the imam and asked him to help deliver the bag to authorities. He directed us to the police station. By God's will, the owner will be found," al-Recco said.

The humble Syrian man said that neither Tütüncü nor he would keep the "haram wealth," referring to the Islamic term for dishonest gains that must be avoided.