Kim Kardashian to testify against 'grandpa robbers' in Paris trial over $9M jewelry heist
PARIS — Kim Kardashian will take the stand in a Paris courtroom on Tuesday to testify against a gang of 10 people known as the 'grandpa robbers' who are accused of stealing jewelry worth $9 million at gunpoint from her in one of the most audacious celebrity heists in modern French history.
Almost nine years after the break-in at the reality star turned business mogul's luxury suite at the Hôtel de Pourtalès, an anonymous-looking building known as 'No Address' frequented by A-list celebrities, the reality star will face the suspects accused of armed robbery, kidnapping and other criminal charges.
Dubbed the 'grandpa robbers' by French media because of their ages, the suspects allegedly posed as police officers before they overpowered the concierge, who was forced to act as a translator as they tied Kardashian up in the bedroom of the luxury suite.
Months after the robbery made headlines, Kardashian talked about the incident during a season 13 episode of E!'s 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians.'
'My door was open like this, and then I saw two guys holding another guy down in police uniforms, but right outside of my bedroom, 5 feet away,' she told her sisters, Khloe Kardashian and Kourtney Kardashian in an emotional conversation.
She said she saw the two men holding down the concierge, who was handcuffed and had a key to her room. 'What I've heard from talking to him afterward is, they said, you know, 'Where's the rapper's wife? Let us up to her room!' in French,' she said, referring to her then-husband, the artist Ye, formerly Kanye West.
The episode which aired in March 2017 has been viewed 3.8 million times on E!'s YouTube channel.
Ahead of the robbery, Kardashian had posted real-time updates from her hotel suite, showing off a 20-carat diamond ring, gifted to her by Ye and investigators believe the gang followed her online, combing through images, timestamps, geotags, before employing old-school criminal methods to conduct the robbery.
Most of the defendants were arrested three months after the robbery as police launched a huge operation that involved piecing together security camera footage and DNA evidence. But the legal process was beset by delays and many of the aging defendants are now suffering from illnesses and one of them has since died. Another is too unwell to stand trial.
Among the defendants at the trial which began last month are Aomar Ait Khedache, 69, known as 'Old Omar,' who is accused of being the plot's mastermind. His son and alleged getaway driver, Harminy, 37, has also been charged along with Didier 'Blue Eyes' Dubreucq, 69.
The brother of Kardashian's driver in Paris, Gary Madar, 35, is accused of providing the alleged gang members with information about her whereabouts and 78-year-old Christiane Glotin, is accused of being an accomplice in planning the heist.
Yunice Abbas, perhaps the best-known defendant in the trial who detailed the robbery in his 2021 book, 'I Kidnapped Kim Kardashian,' testified last month. He told the court it was the first time he had truly come to recognize the 'trauma' he had caused his victim.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
French cops shrug & claim ‘it's difficult' as they stand & watch migrant family almost drown in bid to board small boat
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A FAMILY almost drowned today as they struggled to board a migrant boat — while ten French cops watched from the shore and shrugged: 'It's difficult.'. The mum, dad and young children were among a group of asylum seekers who tried but failed to wade out to the dinghy in time. 5 French cops shrugged their shoulders as they watched migrants pack into boats heading to the UK Credit: Chris Eades 5 One family nearly drowned as they struggled to board the packed dinghy Credit: Chris Eades 5 French cops shrugged their shoulders and said 'it's difficult' Credit: Chris Eades Fighting their way through currents, they returned in silence to the beach in Gravelines, around 15 miles east of Calais. The family, believed to be from Eritrea, finally recovered enough to declare they would try again to clamber on to the estimated £1,200-a-spot 'taxi' to Britain. Just feet away were the cops, watching with binoculars. They wore riot helmets and some carried shields and pepper spray. Asked why they would not intervene when it was clearly so perilous, one officer simply told The Sun: 'It's difficult.' The boat had been launched just before 5am further up the coast, and arrived to pick up the migrants. A waiting crowd then ran out from the sand dunes. French law enforcement have long said it is too risky to act once the boat is in the water — meaning the officers merely watched as the danger unfolded before missing the chance to arrest one of the smugglers. The Sun saw the boat turn up. First a large group of men scrambled aboard, followed by women and families with children. One man appeared barely able to keep his head above water, as he desperately reached from the sea towards the dinghy. Hull residents react to migrants living in iconic hotel Others held on to each other as they fought to keep their kids out of the surf. One cop kept an eye on the inflatable dinghy while four others stood chatting behind him. Another began filming the incident on his phone, while a pal inhaled from a vape. At one stage it appeared the boat was overloaded, with its engine either broken or not powerful enough. But it eventually set off, leaving a group of around ten people without a place. It momentarily paused, giving the desperate migrants a glimmer of hope, but by then the water was already too deep. MAKESHIFT CAMP A suspected smuggler who had steered the boat leapt out and made it to shore — leaving the passengers to negotiate the treacherous crossing alone. He took the group who had missed out back to their makeshift camp, but the police had already left the scene. He became aggressive when approached by The Sun. The family who came close to drowning stayed silent when asked how they were and why they were prepared to take young children on the crossing. They also did not respond when asked if they realised how dangerous the crossing was. But asked if they would try again, a boy believed to be eight or under heartbreakingly admitted 'Yes'. 5 Ten police officers stood on the beach, around 15 miles east of Calais, watching the loading unfold with binoculars Credit: Chris Eades 5 The family also stayed silent when The Sun asked how they felt about missing the boat Credit: Chris Eades Meanwhile another small boat was spotted setting off further down the coast, trailed by a French warship. The two dinghies carried an estimated total of 150 migrants. Photographs from Dover later showed many in life jackets being brought ashore after being intercepted by a UK Border Force patrol. It is unclear if these were the same migrants we saw, or others who set off elsewhere from the France. More than 15,000 people have illegally crossed the Channel this year, figures compiled by the Tories showed. This breaks last year's record of 13,489 arrivals in the first six months. There have also been ten migrant deaths in the Channel this year. Britain is paying France £476million for a deal which is supposed to see border commanders in Calais prevent crossings. But police routinely refuse to do anything once migrants are in the sea. The Sun on Sunday last week told how French police union boss Fabien Vanhemelryck had been branded a hypocrite. 'HYPOCRITE' UNION BOSS It emerged he had called migrants 'scum' and a 'pain' — yet was leading the charge against officers having to intervene. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp MP slammed a 'total loss of border control'. He added: '2025 is the worst year ever for small boat crossings so far. While traffickers and criminal gangs rake in millions, Labour Ministers stand in Westminster rehearsing soundbites.' The Home Office said: 'We have returned nearly 30,000 people with no right to be here and have driven up illegal working arrests by 42 per cent. 'We know more needs to be done with the French to build upon the 10,000 crossing attempts that we have stopped this year, and we are strengthening our cooperation to do this.' They added of the Tory plan to process asylum seekers in a third country: 'The Rwanda plan was not a deterrent. It did not lead to one person being forcibly removed and cost the taxpayer £700million.'
Scottish Sun
2 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Fly-on-the wall reality show following very unlikely TV star and his family ends after just one series
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) BEING TV's poshest ever reality show hasn't saved Meet The Rees-Moggs. I can reveal the fly-on-the-wall documentary featuring top Tory toff Jacob Rees-Mogg and his family, which launched with a blaze of publicity last year, has been axed and won't be returning for a second series on Discovery+. 6 Meet The Rees-Moggs won't be returning for a second series on Discovery+. Credit: PA 6 Jacob was seen in the show losing his seat at the General Election last July Credit: PA It is another setback for the former MP, who was seen in the show losing his seat at the General Election last July. A TV insider said: 'Although the critics seemed to lap up the ridiculousness of the show, it didn't quite get the response from audiences they had hoped for. 'Though it was easy to see how the series could run and run, the feeling among the execs was this should be a one-off capturing of a moment in time, namely the last general election.' Jacob felt that making the Keeping Up With The Kardashians-style show was a way to help 'get the Conservative message out there' while admitting it was a 'calculated risk'. But it doesn't seem to have paid off. When it aired last December, it followed him and his incredibly aristocratic wife, Helena, plus their six children — Mary, Peter, Thomas, Anselm, Alfred and Sixtus. The family provided a snapshot of their privileged and eccentric lives as well as charting the MP's bid to hold on to his seat in North East Somerset constituency. Discovery+ were approached for comment. JOHNNY ON ADHD AND ART JOHNNY VEGAS is back with a new documentary. The comedian, who took a break from his Channel 4 series Carry On Glamping after struggling with his ADHD, will head back to his hometown of St Helens in Merseyside to create a piece of artwork for public display. 6 Johnny Vegas will front new documentary Johnny Vegas: Art, ADHD And Me Credit: Rex His most personal project yet, Johnny Vegas: Art, ADHD And Me will follow him on a journey of self-discovery after his ADHD diagnosis in 2022. Johnny said: 'I used to sit at a potter's wheel on stage, and people thought it was a gimmick, but I actually started out as a dedicated wannabe ceramicist. "Art was my educational saviour. 'Over years of an ongoing decline in educational commitment to the very same arts, I felt it was time to kick-start a debate about culture in general, whilst giving something of a visual a symbol of gratitude back to my honestly beloved town.' The two-parter will be shown on Channel 4. SKY Max has confirmed that its rebooted version of panel show Never Mind The Buzzcocks will be returning for another series. Greg Davies will be back in the hot seat for the fifth season of the show, which previously aired on BBC Two from its launch in 1996 to 2015. LAUREN RETURNS AS TV TEC LAUREN LYLE will be getting her detective uniform back on as ITV cold case drama Karen Pirie returns. The actress, who plays DI Karen Pirie, will be joined by her loveable sidekick, DC Mint (Chris Jenks), and the romantically complicated DS Phil Parhatka, played by Zach Wyatt. 6 Karen Pirie is returning for a second series with Lauren Lyle Credit: Rex The story, based on the novel Darker Domain, follows the discovery of a man's body linked to the first series' spine-chilling kidnap of a young heiress and her baby son. The discovery will put Karen under closer scrutiny from her boss, the media and sinister forces linked to the crime which begin to come to light. It will air on ITV this summer. RUTH HAS WILL FOR NEW ROLE SHE waved goodbye to her role in Gavin and Stacey when the series ended last Christmas, but now Ruth Jones has her eyes set on a new character. The actress, who has just released her fourth book, hopes to have her latest novel turned into a TV series so she can play the leading lady. 6 Ruth Jones wants her latest novel turned into a TV series so she can play the leading lady Credit: Getty By Your Side features Linda Standish, a divorced, plus-sized Scots woman in her fifties working at the Unclaimed Heirs Unit, which traces family members of people who die without a will. And it follows her last case before retiring, involving Welshman Levi Norman. Revealing fans ask who she would cast as a character like Linda, Ruth said: 'I'm in my fifties, and I'm a plus-size woman, but admittedly I am not Scottish!' PANEL show Sorry, I Didn't Know has landed its sixth series on ITV. Jimmy Akingbola will be replaced by former Holby City actress Chizzy Akudolu – who will join team captains Eddie Kadi and Richard Blackwood. Filming will take place this summer. CYNTHIA'S LESSONS IN FAILURE AS Miranda Hobbes in Sex And The City, Cynthia Nixon has seen her character have no shortage of mishaps. But far from getting her down, the actress says she has learned a lot about how to deal with things going wrong. 6 Cynthia Nixon as Miranda Hobbes in And Just Like That... Credit: © Home Box Office, Inc. All rights reserved. HBO® and all related programs are the prope She told Elizabeth Day on the How To Fail podcast: 'Right from the get-go, we've seen Miranda fail at a lot of things – and that was the best thing to happen. 'She didn't actually fail at being a lawyer, I think she realised that her life quest to be on top of the corporate law world was a mistake. 'That's the wonderful thing about the show, it shows there's enough time to make a change. 'A lot of people identify with Miranda, and as years have passed, more of them identify with her. I love her.' Series three of spin-off And Just Like That . . . is available to stream now on Sky. Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme - Sun Club.
Wales Online
3 hours ago
- Wales Online
Twix advert banned after complaints it promoted dangerous driving
Twix advert banned after complaints it promoted dangerous driving The advert shows a man in a car embarking on a high-speed chase with a pursuer, before swerving off the road and tumbling down a hill Twix TV advert banned after complaints it encouraged dangerous driving (Image: Twix/YouTube ) A TV advert for the popular chocolate bar, Twix, has been banned following objections that it promotes reckless driving. The advert, titled Two is More Than One, showcases a 70s-inspired car chase featuring a long-haired man in a caramel-coloured vehicle navigating through a rugged terrain with winding roads. After noticing another driver tailing him via his rear view mirror, he accelerates before yanking the handbrake, veering off to the right side of the road and rolling sideways through a metal barrier. Despite the dramatic tumble down the hill, the driver remains unfazed as the car comes to a halt, landing on an identical vehicle at the bottom of the hill. The two cars are depicted stacked roof-to-roof, with the same man seemingly occupying both vehicles. For the latest TV and showbiz gossip sign up to our newsletter The Twix bar from the top driver falls through the sunroof into the hands of the driver below, and they both shift the gear stick on the ground level car and drive off. Two cars end up roof to roof, and drive away together. (Image: Twix/YouTube ) The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) received five complaints alleging that the advert was irresponsible and encouraged dangerous driving, reports the Express. Article continues below Mars-Wrigley, the confectionery giant that owns Twix, defended the advert by stating it "was set in a separate world that was absurd, fantastical and removed from reality," and they ensured that the acts depicted in the sequence "would be impossible to recreate", according to Sky News. The firm, which also owns brands such as Maltesers and M&Ms, stated that the cars "were shot driving at lawful speeds and any emulation would only reflect the legal and safe driving presented". Mars-Wrigley also pointed out that the advert embodied the playful and absurd humour that the Twix brand is renowned for. Clearcast, the non-profit organisation that approves adverts before they are broadcast in the UK, informed the watchdog that the style of the video made it clear to viewers that the actions depicted were not intended to be replicated, and said the ad did not suggest "safe driving was boring," according to BBC News. However, despite acknowledging that the video featured "some clearly fantastical elements," the watchdog decided to uphold the complaints, stating in its ruling that the ads "must not appear again in their current form". "We considered the road was clearly realistic," the ASA stated. "The scenes were depicted as a chase with the emphasis on speed. In addition, the first man was then shown putting the handbrake on and the car swerved off the road leaving visible skid marks. "We considered the emphasis on a chase, and the speed inherent to that, and the driving manoeuvres featured would be dangerous and irresponsible if emulated in real life on a public highway." In its ruling, the ASA instructed Mars-Wrigley "not to condone or encourage irresponsible driving that was likely to breach the legal requirements of the Highway Code in their ads." A spokesperson for Mars Wrigley UK stated: "We always take pride in maintaining high standards across all our communications and every advert we produce is submitted for approval through the appropriate review channels. Article continues below "In our view, this particular advert adopts a fantastical tone that is neither realistic nor intended to be imitated. "Nonetheless, we take our responsibility as an advertiser seriously and never intended to cause any offence or concern, so we are reviewing the ruling carefully in order to work collaboratively towards a resolution."
