Kim Kardashian's chauffeur was among the 17 arrested in connection with her armed robbery in Paris, it emerged tonight.
The heist, worth around £8.5 million, was France's biggest jewellery theft involving a private citizen in more than two decades.
The development strengthens theories the robbery was an inside job and that the gang knew exactly where their target would be at any time.
The 27-year-old driver worked for an upmarket firm that was used by the Kardashian family whenever they were in Paris.
Police confirmed reports he would have known all her movements.
Special French investigators swooped on a restaurant in Rue de Bretagne in connection with the robbery of Kim Kardashian, which happened during Paris fashion week in October
A DNA match from the necklace, along with tape used to gag Ms Kardashian, enabled detectives to trace key members of the gang and 17 were arrested in a series of raids
French police yesterday arrested 17 people in connection with the £8.5million robbery in October
One of those arrested is the chauffeur with the limo firm used by the Kardashian family in Paris, raising further questions over whether the crime was an inside job
The accused men, aged mostly in their 50s, 60s and 70s, are suspected of stealing jewels and valuables worth £8.5million from Ms Kardashian during Paris fashion week.
Pierre B - the 72-year-old alleged ringleader - was arrested after officers broke down the gate of his villa in Plascassier, a village near Grasse, in the south of France.
The age of the suspects has echoes of the 2015 Hatton Garden safe deposit robbery in London – carried out by a team of veteran British criminals.
A police source said: 'The oldest suspect is 72, while others are in their 50s and 60s. All are well known to the police.' Another later arrest involved a 23-year-old.
Barrister Jean Veil said his 36-year-old client had been left deeply traumatised after being bound, gagged and threatened with death in the French capital last October.
The robbers made off with her 20-carat Lorraine Schwartz engagement ring worth £3.5million and a case of jewellery with a value of £5.24million.
The police organised crime brigade (BRB) carried out dawn raids on Monday in the Paris area
The reality TV star had a gun pointed at her, her hands and feet bound with cable ties and was left in the bath after masked men with police badges on their jackets burst into her room at a hotel in the city's exclusive 8th arrondissement.
Ms Kardashian, the world's highest paid reality television star, was alone because her bodyguard, Pascal Duvier, was out at a nightclub with her sisters.
But three months since the heist, the gang – including 'career villain' Pierre B – are thought to have been rounded up.
'I welcome this with great satisfaction,' said Mr Veil, who said he was due to discuss details of the raids with Ms Kardashian when she woke up in Los Angeles last night.
Reality star Kim, 36, was woken at 2.35am on October 3 as she slept in her luxury Paris apartment
Your Thoughts?
No comments:
Post a Comment