A Theft with an Unexpected Twist: Thief Returns $292,000 Watch with a Note Saying “Sorry”

A man stole a Swiss Audemars Piguet watch worth approximately $292,000 from a store in Tokyo, only to return it three days later by courier, along with a handwritten apology note. Police are now trying to identify the mysterious thief and find out why he changed his mind.

The theft took place at Kamekichi, a watch store in the Nakano Broadway shopping complex. The man asked to try on a timepiece priced at 46 million yen, slipped it onto his left wrist and suddenly made a run for it.

According to TBS, his entire visit lasted around eight minutes. The suspect fled from the third floor to the basement, jumping over escalators along the way, before making his escape. Store employees chased after him, shouting “Thief!”, but were unable to catch him. No one was injured.

Three days later, staff received a package containing the stolen watch and a brief handwritten note: “Sorry.” A serial number check confirmed that it was the same timepiece. It showed no visible signs of damage.

The package had been sent from Aichi Prefecture, several hundred kilometers from Tokyo. However, the sender’s name and address were believed to be fake. Police are investigating who returned the watch and whether the sender was the original thief. No suspect has been identified so far.

This is not the first high-profile robbery at Nakano Broadway. In August, four luxury watches worth a combined $1.3 million were stolen from another store in the complex. Two Chilean nationals were arrested on suspicion of involvement.

The biggest mystery in the latest case remains unanswered: why would someone steal a watch worth nearly $300,000, only to send it back with a simple “Sorry”?