Le bust in Kim heist
Her driver among 17 busted in Paris gem rob
THE LIMO driver who ferried Kim Kardashian home on the night of her terrifying Paris heist was among 17 suspects arrested Monday in the high-profile crime.
The 27-year-old chauffeur was nabbed along with 16 other suspects in the first big bust for the Oct. 3 armed robbery, French newspaper Le Monde reported Monday.
Kardashian was held at gunpoint by masked men who stole millions in jewelry — including a $4 million ring that she had shown off in an Instagram post — from the ritzy so-called No Address Hotel in Paris.
From the beginning, the wellorganized robbery raised suspicions of a possible inside job. Now French police believe the driver may have fed details of the 36-year-old reality star’s comings and goings to his partnersin-crime, according to reports.
French attorney Jean Veil said his client Kardashian is “very happy” and “very reassured” by the arrests.
Most of the 17 rounded up are well-known to French police, local media reported. Many have rap sheets for forgery, armed robberies, counterfeiting and drug trafficking.
Five of the alleged robbers disguised themselves as police officers, Le Monde reported.
They were arrested along with the others in several locations in and around Paris, including the densely populated suburb of Vincennes, as well as Le Raincy. Some were also nabbed in other large cities.
Three of them are women and several are older than 55.
The oldest suspect is a 72-year-old man known to police as “Pierre B,” multiple French media outlets reported.
He was arrested when police stormed his villa in the small town of Plascassier, about 20 miles outside Nice, Le Monde reported.
The early-morning raids were the culmination of a threemonth investigation into the Kardashian robbery that made headlines around the world.
Cops were able to make the busts thanks in part to forensic evidence recovered at the scene.
One suspect left DNA on adhesive tape used to gag and bind Kardashian, who has two children — daughter North West, 3, and son Saint West, 1 — with husband Kanye West.
French police believe the suspects tried to smuggle the jewels to Antwerp, Belgium, because two of those arrested were seen visiting the city, a stronghold of the global diamond trade, Le Monde said.
French police can hold the suspects for up to four days before charging them or letting them go.