Officers raided a house to find the only stolen item inside was a doormat emblazoned with the words "Sussex Police".
A senior policeman was initially disappointed the search uncovered no stolen property until he realised what one detective was standing on.
A red doormat, measuring 5ft by 7ft, sat by the front door of the address in Wick, Littlehampton.
It was marked as belonging to the force and had been stolen from Littlehampton police station some weeks earlier.
A police spokesman said: "At least it meant the search wasn't a complete waste of time."
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