Kim Kardashian robbery: French police suggest thieves targeted jewellery they had seen on social media

French police have suggested the thieves who robbed Kim Kardashian West at gunpoint targeted her after she posted pictures of diamond jewellery on social media.

Authorities in Paris say the reality TV mogul was the victim of an armed robbery at her luxury accommodation in the French capital in the early hours of Monday morning. Her publicist told The Independent she was targeted by at least two men dressed as police officers and escaped the ordeal “physically unharmed” but “badly shaken up”. It is alleged the men took off with jewellery worth several million euros.

Paris prosecutors have since described the high-profile incident as “extremely rare” and said the robbers were focused on “possessions that had been seen and noticed via social media”.

The 35-year-old is one of the most prolific celebrities on social media with a combined Instagram and Twitter following of more than 132 million. Since launching her career starring in Keeping up with the Kardashians, she has become known as the woman capable of “breaking the internet”.

Just four days ago, she shared a picture of herself with an eye-watering diamond ring on her left hand.

The chief spokesperson for the Paris police apartment told the Associated Press: “This kind of incident is extremely rare in Paris. This is a star who is famous worldwide. Do not confuse what happened to Ms Kardashian and probably was the result of an organised team who had planned their action with the assault of a tourist in front of Notre Dame or another tourist spot in Paris.

“Clearly when you have a star like Kim Kardashian who has more than 48 million followers on Twitter […] I think this could have happened abroad just as easily as Paris.

“It was really the celebrity who was targeted, with possessions that have been seen and noticed via social media, and it was these good that the attackers targeted.”

New details surrounding the robbery have also been reported by gossip site TMZ who claim she was tied up, duct-taped, locked in a bathroom and feared she would be raped by the thieves.

Kardashian West was reportedly lying in bed in her dressing gown when she heard boots coming up the stairs. She then tried to grab her phone to alert her bodyguard but before she could the thieves stormed in and one of them took the phone.

She was then tied up with plastic handcuffs and duct tape and later told police she feared she was going to be raped when one of the men grabbed her by the ankles, according to TMZ's report.

The men then reportedly duct-taped her ankles, picked her up and put in the bathroom where she started screaming and pleading with them not to kill her because she has two children.

The thieves allegedly did not speak English, just French, and were reportedly demanding for a “ring”.

Kardashian West’s friend and stylist Simone Harouche was staying in the property at the time and after hearing the commotion rang the reality star’s bodyguard Pascal Duvier who was out chaperoning Kardashian-West’s sister Kourtney at the time. According to reports, Mr Duvier arrived at the property a couple of minutes after the robbers had fled.

Mr Duvier was seen escorting Kardashian West, West and her mother Kris Jenner on Monday as they made their way into West’s New York City apartment after flying in from the French capital on a private jet. The group was escorted by a heavy security detail including numerous bodyguards and a convoy of blacked-out vehicles. Members of the New York Police Department police force were also on the scene amid large crowds of paparazzi and media.

Additional reporting by the Press Association.