KITCHENER -- A man is facing a number of charges after an off-duty police officer allegedly saw him shoplifting over the weekend.

According to a news release, the Guelph Police Service officer was shopping at a store on Paisley Road on Saturday morning when he saw another person putting items into plastic shopping bags.

The constable was waiting to pay for his groceries and told store staff about the possible theft.

While he was leaving the store, the officer saw the man leaving with the groceries and asked to see his receipt. The news release said that the man wasn't able to show him one, which prompted the off-duty officer to place the man under arrest.

A search turned up a bottle of alcohol, which had been stolen about an hour earlier from another business.

The news release said that the accused admitted that he planned to sell the stolen goods for drug money.

The accused, 55, was charged with two counts of theft under $5,000 and two counts of possessing stolen property. He's due in court on May 18.