Kim Kardashian trial live: Star to confront Paris ‘grandpa gang’ suspects accused of tying her up at gunpoint in $10 million jewellery heist

One of the gang who wrote a ‘boastful and mocking’ book about robbing Kim Kardashian at gunpoint has previously told a court: ‘I do regret what I did, it opened my eyes.’

Yunice Abbas, 72, has admitted his role in the raid targeting the American reality TV star, in which $10million of jewellery was stolen and never recovered.

Appearing at the Paris Assizes last month, Judge David Pas said to Abbas: ‘Listening to you, it sounds like you only ever feel sorry for yourself. Do you have any sympathy for your victims?

Abbas, who is 72 and who underwent a triple bypass operation during a spell in prison, answered:

I do have regrets. Before I didn’t. But this time I do regret what I did. This case has opened my eyes. The Kim Kardashian case was being talked about on TV all the time, and it led to me asking some questions.

Read more from Peter Allen here:

Extra security has been drafted in near the Palais de Justice courthouse

A vast security operation unfolded in Paris today as Kim Kardashian prepared to tell a court how she feared being ‘shot and killed’ as she was robbed of $10million-worth of jewels.

Hundreds of extra police and gendarmes were mobilised around the historic Palais de Justice in the centre of the French capital, where the 44-year-old American reality TV star was due on Tuesday afternoon.

Ms Kardashian arrived in France on Monday afternoon via a private jet which landed at Paris-Le Bourget airport.

Surrounded by security guards, she was driven to a secret location, to prepare for her appearance at the Paris Assizes.

She has been told by her lawyers not to say anything until after her appearance in court, which is likely to last a couple of hours.

The public prosecutor’s office confirmed that ‘a specific security arrangement is planned,’ to make sure Ms Kardashian got in and out of the Voltaire Chamber of the Assizes safely.

Reinforcements could be seen lining the streets outside by first light on Tuesday morning, and they included special forces officers with heavy machine guns.

Hundreds of journalists from across the world queued since dawn outside France’s most prestigious court this morning to hear Kim Kardashian’s bombshell account how she was robbed at gunpoint in a terrifying jewel heist nine years ago.

The earliest reporters to arrive began queueing at 5am, some four hours before the court building opened.

Reporters vied for a limited number of seats inside the Voltaire room at the Paris Palais de Justice at the heart of the French capital. A second courtroom has been opened for journalists following via video feed.

Ms Kardashian is expected to relive the terrifying raid in the Wosky hours of 3 October 2016 this afternoon.

But first the court will hear from her assistant Simone Bretter, formerly known as Simone Harouche, who managed to hide inside the luxury hotel apartment during the raid.

Aomar Ait Khedache, one of the ‘grandpa gang’

The gang of thieves at the centre of the Kim Kardashian heist were dubbed the ‘grandpa gang’ by the French media as most are now in their 60s and 70s and suffering from a range of illnesses including Alzheimer’s.

They were charged following an extensive investigation launched following the robbery eight-and-a-half years ago during one of the busiest weeks in the Parisian calendar – Paris Fashion Week.

Twelve suspects were charged, but only 10 are standing trial in Paris, nine men and one woman, with proceedings delayed as a result of Covid and other high-profile cases.

One of the suspects, Pierre ‘Big Pierrot’ Bouianere, 72, was ruled unfit to enter the dock because he is suffering from Alzheimer’s, while another, Marceau Baum-Gertner, has since died.

Those taking the stand face charges including armed robbery, membership of a criminal gang, and kidnapping – which refers to Kardashian being held hostage at gunpoint. Some are accused of aiding in the organisation of the robbery.

Eight of the accused deny any involvement while two suspects, Yunice Abbas, 72, and Aomar Ait Khedache, 70, have admitted participating in the heist.

The other men on trial include:

• Gary Madar: 35-year-old is accused of being an informant, potentially providing information about Kardashian’s location.
• Marc Boyer: 78-year-old is accused of obtaining the gun used in the robbery.
• Marc-Alexandre Boyer: 36-year-old son of Marc Boyer who is accused of participating in the robbery
• Harminy Ait Khedache: 38-year-old son of Omar who is accused of tailing the reality TV star’s limousine as she was driven around the city.
• Didier Dubreucq: 69-year-old is accused of being one of the two men who entered Kim’s penthouse and put a gun to her head.
• Francois Delaporte: 61-year-old is accused of taking part in the robbery
• Christiane ‘Cathy’ Glotin: 78-year-old is accused of helping to organise the Kardashian heist, and allegedly travelled to Antwerp to sell the swag – the only female defendant
• Florus Héroui: 52-year-old is accused of passing on information about Ms Kardashian’s movements in Paris to Old Omar.

Surveillance footage helped French police reconstruct the timeline of the robbery, but the breakthrough came from a trace of DNA left on the plastic ties used to bind Kardashian.

It matched Aomar Aït Khedache, a veteran criminal whose DNA was in the national database.

Phone taps and surveillance led police to others, including Yunice Abbas and Didier Dubreucq, known as ‘Yeux bleus.’

Most of the accused have long criminal records.

Abbas later claimed he was unaware of Kardashian’s identity during the heist.

But investigators say the men acted with detailed planning and discipline. Prepaid phones were activated the day before the heist and abandoned immediately afterward.

Kardashian pictured wearing her engagement ring in Paris days before raid

Masked men walked away with millions of dollars’ worth of jewels in what was described by the French media as the ‘heist of the century’.

At the centrepiece was an 18.8-carat diamond ring given to Kardashian by her then-husband, rapper Kanye West. The jewel was valued at 3.5 million euros ($3.9 million).

Alongside the ring, a yellow gold Rolex Cosmograph Daytona, seven Cartier and Hermès bracelets, and three gold-and-diamond grills were also taken.

The total estimated value of the raid was estimated at around $10 million.

One of the robbers, Pierre ‘Big Pierrot’ Bouianere, 72, is believed to have dropped one platinum cross adorned with diamonds that was found the next morning.

The item was the only piece returned to Kardashian after it was handed in at a nearby police station.

Kim Kardiashan with her then husband Kanye West in 2015

Today’s trial dates back to the audacious early hours raid in October 2016 during Paris Fashion Week when Kim Kardashian was at the height of celebrity and married to rap superstar Kanye West.

Ms Kardashian, then 35, was alone in the penthouse apartment of her £13,500-a-night hotel, dozing on the bed in a silk night gown, when two men disguised as policemen burst into the room and put a gun to her head.

The celebrity was bound and gagged, ‘like a sausage’ and dumped in the bath of her ensuite bathroom while robbers spent 49 minutes snatching millions of pounds worth of gems and watches including her 18.88 carat diamond engagement ring.

As they fled, one robber dropped a platinum cross adorned with diamonds that was found the next morning.

Visibly traumatised Kim Kardashian fled the country by private jet after giving a brief statement to French detectives and was consoled by husband Kanye West who halted a concert, telling fans he had a ‘family emergency’.

Ms Kardashian has been denied justice for years, with delays on bringing the case to court blamed on the priority of high-profile terrorist trials.

• For more details of the robbery click here

The trial is being heard at the Palais de Justice

A new podcast has launched, part of the Mail’s award-winning ‘The Trial’ series, which looks at the elderly masterminds who stand accused of enacting the 2016 robbery of Kim Kardashian in her Paris hotel room.

Hosted by the Mail’s acclaimed crime correspondent Caroline Cheetham and reporter in Paris Nick Fagge, the first episode of this new series lays the groundwork for the long-awaited trial of 10 suspects, dubbed the ‘grandpa gang’ by French media.

We’re expecting Kim Kardashian to testify in Paris at around 2pm local time (1pm UK time).

Before she gives evidence, we’re expecting to hear from her stylist Simone Harouche.

Harouche, a friend of Kardashian who has known her since she was 11, was staying in Paris at the time of the raid but on a different floor.

She is said to have locked herself in a bathroom and called Kardashian’s bodyguard Pascal Duvier, who was at a nightclub with Kim’s sisters Kourtney and Kendall.

Hello and welcome to MailOnline’s live coverage as Kim Kardashian testifies in a Paris court against the suspected thieves who allegedly targeted her in a terrifying jewellery heist in the French capital.

Nine years ago, Kardashian was tied-up, gagged and locked in a bathroom inside a luxury hotel by a group of thieves who had disguised themselves as police officers.

She was allegedly targeted by criminals after showing off her jewellery on social media.

The American businesswoman and reality TV star later fled the country by private jet after speaking to French detectives.

In previous years, she has told how the raid left her afraid to be alone and that she thought she would be killed by the robbers, but more recently that she is ready to face her assailants.

Stick with us as we bring you the latest from Kardashian’s appearance in the courtroom with Nick Fagge reporting from the Paris criminal court and Jamie Bullen in London.