'Sorry for that': Stolen $290,000 Swiss watch returns to Tokyo store with an apology note

A luxury wristwatch worth about ¥46 million ($292,000) stolen from a shop in Tokyo last week was returned to the store through a delivery service on Sunday, accompanied by a handwritten apology note, investigative sources said Monday.

Tokyo police are searching for the suspect, who fled with the watch after trying it on at the store, reports The Japan Times.

The theft took place at around 8pm on Thursday at a watch shop on the third floor of the Nakano Broadway shopping complex in Nakano Ward, police and other sources said.

The man tried on a luxury Audemars Piguet watch before fleeing with it. Two employees were present at the time, but neither was injured.

The watch was delivered back to the shop on Sunday morning. Staff checked its serial number and confirmed that it was the stolen item.

The package had been sent from Aichi Prefecture and contained a handwritten note expressing an apology. Although a name and address were also written on the package, police believe the information was false.

In a separate incident at the same shopping complex in August, four luxury watches with a combined retail value of about ¥200 million were stolen from another shop on the first floor.

Two Chilean nationals were arrested on suspicion of theft in connection with that incident and subsequently indicted.