The Untold Story of the Grandpa Robbers Behind the Kim Kardashian Heist
PARIS — The morning after the heist, burglar Yunice Abbas went home to catch up on some sleep.
When he woke up, his wife was glued to the TV. The headline news of the day was that American reality TV star Kim Kardashian, 35, had been tied up and robbed at gunpoint in a luxury Paris apartment.
All her jewelry had been taken for a sum of about $10m (£7.5m) – including the engagement ring her then-husband and rapper Kanye West gifted her, which alone was worth $4m (£3m).
Yunice Abbas’ wife glared at him. “This has you written all over it,” she grumbled.
She was right. The 62-year-old had dabbled in crime his whole life, from petty offenses to bank heists.
The Kardashian robbery, he later wrote in a memoir, was going to be his last job before retirement.
But a series of blunders meant the heist was doomed from the start and in early 2017 — three months after the robbery — Abbas and several of his alleged accomplices were arrested.
Ten of them will now be appearing in court in Paris in a trial set to last just under three weeks.
Out of those, five are accused of taking part in the heist, and six are accused of being accessories to the crime.
Most of them were born in the 1950s, leading French media to dub them the “grandpa robbers”.
Abbas and a 68-year-old man, Aomar Ait Khedache, have confessed; the others have not.
One has since passed away, and another, aged 81, will be excused as he is suffering from advanced dementia.
By the time the trial starts, almost nine years will have gone by since the heist.
On the night between 2 and 3 October 2016, Abbas and four accomplices allegedly staked out Kardashian’s discreet suite in Hotel de Pourtalès, in the glitzy Madeleine neighborhood in Paris, not far from the Opéra and Place Vendome.
At around 03:00 local time, they burst into the hotel’s entrance hall, dressed as policemen and wielding a gun.
They threatened and handcuffed Abderrahmane Ouatiki, an Algerian PhD student who regularly took up shifts as night receptionist, and marched him up to Kardashian’s room.
She was resting on her bed, tired from days of attending Paris Fashion Week events, when she heard stomping up the stairs.
She called out for her sister Kourtney and her stylist Stephanie, but when they didn’t answer she panicked.
“I knew someone was there to get me,” she recalled in an interview with US interviewer David Letterman years later. “You just feel it.”
Kim dialed 911 but the number, of course, didn’t work outside of the US. As she was calling her then-security guard Pascal Duvier — who had accompanied her sister to a club — the men burst in, pushed her on the bed and started shouting.
“They kept on saying: the ring, the ring! And I was so startled that it didn’t compute for a minute,” she told Letterman.
The language barrier meant Ouatiki had to act as an interpreter.
They grabbed the ring and several other jewels, as well as 1000 euros in cash. One of the men grabbed her and pulled her toward him.
Because she was wearing a robe with nothing underneath, she thought he was going to assault her, Kim later told Letterman, wiping tears away.
But instead – using the technique of saucissonnage, or the practice of tying them up like a saucisson, a salami — the man bound her with zip ties and duct tape, and left her in the bathroom.
Then, he and the rest of the burglars fled on bikes and on foot. Kim freed herself of her restraints, and shortly after her security guard turned up.
Traumatized, Kim gave a statement to French police in the early hours of the morning and flew back to the US by dawn.
It wasn’t until the next morning, when Abbas caught a glimpse of the TV screen his wife was watching, that he understood who their victim was.
“There were breaking news alerts saying Kim Kardashian had been robbed at gunpoint – that’s how important it was,” says LA-based entertainment journalist KJ Matthews.
“We were so fascinated with her and her family and their rise to fame… When the heist happened we were so surprised. How could burglars have gotten so close to her?” Matthews says.
But while mistakes were made in terms of Kardashian’s security, serious errors were made on the burglars’ side, too.
“They didn’t take into account the progress made by police techniques, which can now find micro traces of DNA anywhere,” said Patricia Tourancheau, a crime reporter and the author of “Kim and the grandpa robbers” — a thorough account of the heist and of the lives of its perpetrators.
“When they dressed up as police they thought ‘that’s it, nobody will be able to recognize us’,” she adds.
But in 2016 Paris was still reeling from the terrorist attacks of the previous year, and there were a huge number of CCTV cameras all round the city, meaning police were able to spot the thieves and see them make off with the jewels.
Other details of this story suggest that the thieves’ planning was rather haphazard.
**THE GRAND HEIST OF KIM KARDASHIAN: A TALE OF DIAMONDS AND DECEIT**
In a daring escape on a bike, Abbas lost his grip and spilled a bag of precious jewels, setting off a chain of events that would rock the world.
THE DISCOVERY OF A DIAMOND-ENCRUSTED NECKLACE
The following day, an unsuspecting passer-by stumbled upon a diamond-encrusted necklace, unknowingly wearing it to work until the shocking truth was revealed on the news.
THE ARREST OF THE GANG
In January 2017, the long arm of the law finally caught up with Abbas and his accomplices, who had been under surveillance for weeks. DNA evidence linked them to the notorious figure known as “Omar the Old”.
THE MYSTERY UNRAVELED
How did the gang manage to pinpoint Kim Kardashian’s whereabouts and strike when she was most vulnerable? Court documents hinted at insider information provided by Gary Madar, a close associate of the Kardashian family.
THE HUNT FOR THE MISSING JEWELS
As the trial unfolds, investigators race to uncover the fate of the stolen jewels. Tracking the gang’s movements, they discovered a trail leading to the diamond hub of Antwerp, Belgium, where the precious gems were likely sold and dispersed.
THE AFTERMATH
Kim Kardashian’s harrowing ordeal left her shaken, prompting a reevaluation of her security measures and social media presence. The heist marked a turning point in her life, leading to introspection and a newfound perspective on material possessions.
THE CLASH OF TWO WORLDS
A clash of worlds unfolded as the global icon faced off against a band of aging thieves, showcasing the stark divide between celebrity glamour and gritty criminality. The heist underscored the vulnerability of even the most famous personalities in the face of ruthless criminals.
THE TRIAL AWAITS
As Kim prepares to confront her assailants in court, the world watches with bated breath. The trial promises to be a spectacle, shedding light on the intricate web of deceit and betrayal that led to the infamous heist.
THE EPILOGUE
In a poignant reflection, Abbas contemplates the weight of his actions and the consequences of his past. As the trial draws to a close, he faces the prospect of a future behind bars, haunted by the ghosts of his criminal past.
