Seventeen arrested over £8.2 million armed robbery on Kim Kardashian

● Suspects aged between 23 and 72 ● Firearms found in police raids

Seventeen people have been arrested in connection with the Kim Kardashian robbery last year.

The socialite and reality TV star was held at gunpoint and robbed of jewellery said to be worth more than $10 million (£8.2m) by masked men in a private residence in Paris on 3 October.

Police said the arrests took place from around 6am in different locations in the Paris region and the south of France.

The suspects, aged between 23 and 72, were already known for robberies and other crimes, according to one official.

Multiple firearms, including an automatic pistol, and €140,000 (£121,000) in cash were found during the raids.

The Paris prosecutors’ office declined to say whether those arrested included the five people police said took part in the robbery, including two who forced their way into Kardashian’s rented apartment.

Jean Veil, Kardashian’s French lawyer, said news of the arrests is “a great satisfaction”.

He said his client could be interviewed again by investigators and might have to face the suspects.

Robbers forced their way into the private residence

0 Kim Kardashian said she thought she was going to be shot in the back in the Paris heist where Kardashian was staying for Paris Fashion Week, tied her up, held her at gunpoint and then locked her in a bathroom before making off with the jewellery.

Media reports said police tracked down the suspects through DNA found at the apartment.

The arrests came as Kardashian spoke out about the Paris heist, saying she thought she was going to be shot in the back.

The 36-year-old broke her silence in a trailer for an upcoming series of the family’s reality show, Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

She told her sisters she thought“they’regoingtoshoot me in the back – there’s no way out”, and added: “It makes me so upset to think about it.”

Kardashian suffered more turmoil in November when her rapper husband Kanye West was taken to hospital in Los Angeles for sleep deprivation and exhaustion, after abruptly a US tour.