French police investigating the theft of nearly $10 million in jewels from Kim Kardashian arrested 17 people on Monday, including the reality star’s longtime chauffeur.
The 36-year-old had been in her room at the No Address Hotel during Paris Fashion Week when a group of masked, armed men tied her up at gunpoint before making off with her engagement ring and other jewels, police said at the time.
They fled on bicycles with jewellery worth Nine million euros ($9.5 million).
According to police and judicial sources many of those arrested are known underworld figures.
French media reported that DNA traces picked up off the tape used to tie up Kim Kardashian led police to the suspects – the oldest being a 72-year-old man held in the Provencal city of Grasse, while the youngest is in his early twenties, Sky News reports.
Photos have since surfaced of three men arrested in connection with the October robbery. Now, more details regarding Kim Kardashian’s longtime chauffeur are coming to light.
According to French news publication Le Monde, Kim’s chauffeur was arrested after sources believed he may have passed on key information needed to pull off the robbery, giving evidence to rumours that it was an inside job.
The 72-year-old man arrested under the alias ‘Pierre B’ is believed to be one of the main assailants behind orchestrating the robbery.
The investigation is still ongoing but while authorities first admitted they were ‘nowhere near’ catching the criminals, it seems serious steps in the right direction have been taken over the last few weeks.
As for Kim, her rep says she’s ‘very happy’ and ‘very reassured’ by the progress of the recently intense investigation.
Only time will tell if justice will be well and truly served.
