[mothered]

They also say in the mail that  “Upon receipt, we will complete your request”  so it sounds good but i won’t take the risk.

As said, the affidavit may only be required to evaluate your claim.

My previous post Is purely based on the probability of the company taking the matter further, legally or otherwise.

How should I go about returning it without raising any suspicion?

As In legitimately return the AirPods for a refund?

Yes as a legit return, just don’t know what story I can tell them. I have already told them that I removed the plastic and the AirPods and charging case was gone.

Alternatively, you can box them.

The AirPods are light enough to do so without substituting the weight.