A shoplifter after stealing two bottles of alcohol took a wrong turn to be caught at Rome's police headquarters.

Heavily armed police grabbed the 19-year-old just outside the building, a police spokeswoman said Thursday.

Stunned, the crook immediately confessed and handed over the liquor.

"Yes, I stole the bottles. But not this chocolate," he said, pointing to a candy bar he had purchased earlier, according to Il Messaggero newspaper.

Three of his friends, spectators to the event, were arrested as accomplices.