‘Grandpa robbers’ go on trial in Paris over Kim Kardashian jewel heist

PARIS - Ten suspects go on trial in Paris on April 28 over the 2016 robbery of the US celebrity Kim Kardashian, which saw some US$10 million (S$13.14 million) worth of jewellery stolen from the reality TV star and influencer.

Kardashian, now 44 – who left Paris traumatised hours after the robbery on the night of October 2-3, 2016 – is due to testify at the trial on May 13 in a court appearance that will be a major event in itself.

Those on trial are mainly men in their 60s and 70s with previous criminal records and underworld nicknames like “Old Omar” and “Blue Eyes” that recall the old-school French bandits of 1960s and 1970s film noirs.

Kardashian, then 35, was threatened with a gun to the head and tied up with her mouth taped up. The perpetrators reportedly wore ski masks and clothes with police markings, and tied up the billionaire celebrity with zip ties and duct tape.

The theft was the biggest against a private individual in France in the past 20 years.

The trial will also go into how the perpetrators received the information as to where Kardashian was staying during Paris Fashion Week, and picked the very moment when her bodyguard was absent, accompanying her sister Kourtney to a night club.

It is thought Kardashian’s frequent posts about her wealth, personal life and whereabouts may have facilitated the perpetrators’ actions.

Haul never recovered

The star was staying at an exclusive hotel in central Paris favoured by celebrities when two armed and masked men stormed into her room at around 3am after arriving at the establishment by bicycle.

They shouted that they wanted the diamond engagement ring from her now ex-husband, the US rapper Kayne West.

Kardashian had been showing it off on her social media channels – it alone was valued at US$4 million.

They made off with the ring among US$10 million worth of jewels.

The only item recovered was a diamond necklace dropped in the street while the thieves escaped.

It all lasted just 10 minutes, with Kardashian’s bodyguard arriving to rescue his client after he was alerted.

“They kept on saying ‘the ring, the ring’,” Kardashian told David Letterman in a 2020 interview, during which she fought back tears as she recalled her fears of being raped that night.

“I kept looking at the concierge,” she continued, referring to the concierge of the exclusive building who had been forced at gunpoint to lead the gang to her apartment. “I was like, ‘Are we gonna die? Just tell them I have children, I have babies ... I have to get home’.”

The suspects were arrested three months after the robbery, through DNA evidence.

But the gold seized was apparently melted down and investigators, who took hundreds of thousands of euros from the suspects when they were arrested, believe that much of the stolen haul was sold in Belgium.

‘Easy’ heist

Twelve suspects were charged, with 10 going on trial from April 28. One died in March this year and another is to be tried separately for health reasons.

Five of them face armed robbery and kidnapping charges. The others are charged with complicity in the heist or the unauthorised possession of a weapon.

“It wasn’t a major armed robbery” but an “easy” heist, said the main suspect, Aomar Ait Khedache, 68, known as “Old Omar”. His DNA from the scene helped investigators find him and the co-defendants.

He admitted tying up Kardashian, but disputes investigators’ claims that he was the mastermind behind the robbery.

He says he was approached by an unnamed “sponsor” who suggested the scheme on behalf of an “informant” very close to the star, who then gave them the green light.

According to his lawyer, Khedache now has severe hearing and speaking problems and can only express himself in writing.

Another key suspect is Didier Dubreucq, 69, known as “Blue Eyes”, accused of being the second person who stormed into Kardashian’s room. He denies the charges.

Yunice Abbas, 71, meanwhile stayed in the lobby while the two other men went up to her room, it is alleged.

He controversially sought to capitalise on the crime by writing a book titled I Kidnapped Kim Kardashian.

Abbas, who had spent 20 years of his working life in jail, told French television channel TF1 the “big job was to be the last”.

He said he had been told a big diamond was the target but not the The Kardashians star.

Others on trial are accused of being facilitators and informants, including Gary Madar, the brother of Kardashian’s long-serving Paris driver.

He is accused of supplying information about her movements, which he denies.

Despite the “media hype”, the trial “must allow for calm debates”, warned one of the defence lawyers, Margot Pugliese.

Ms Chloe Arnoux, a lawyer representing Khedache, said her client could end up spending the rest of his life in prison due to his age.

She said in an interview with BFM TV that he had written to Kardashian to apologise, but his letter had been intercepted by officials.

The trial is due to last until May 23. AFP, REUTERS