An information technology (IT) staff took on a wrong footing when he hatched a plan to steal shoes at a mosque here in broad daylight. And that too, in style!

In his mission to steal shoes at the Wilayah Mosque in Jalan Tunku Abdul Halim here Last Saturday, he borrowed a friend's Mercedes Benz car, saying he needed the vehicle for two hours to get a 'job' done.

Sentul police chief ACP R. Munusamy said security guards caught the 38-year-old suspect red-handed stealing shoes at the mosque at 11.25am.

"On inspecting the borrowed Mercedez Benz's bonnet, as many as 13 pairs of shoes, believed stolen from an area where shoes were placed in the mosque, were found," he told reporters here Monday.

He said the suspect, from Kuala Lumpur, was employed at a private IT company, adding that the police were investigating whether he had committed similar thefts in the past.

In another development, three men in a stolen car were detained at a roadblock in Jalan Kuching here.

Munusamy said a check on the registration and chassis numbers of the Volkswagen Golf car revealed it was reported missing last year in Taman Tun Dr Ismail.

He said two of the suspects had previous criminal records for offences under the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.