Was the £8.5m Kardashian heist an inside job? French police probe whether Eastern European gang were tipped off by security as shaken Kim returns to NY after gunmen tied her up in a MARBLE bathtub

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Kim Kardashian begged ‘Please don’t kill me! I have children’ as masked men put a gun to her head in an £8.5million raid at her Paris home yesterday.

Five English-speaking robbers posing as policemen are believed to have tracked her via her obsession with updating social media.

They tied up the American reality TV star in the bathroom of her palatial French residence and helped themselves to jewellery before escaping on hired bicycles.

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Kim Kardashian has arrived back in New York after her terrifying ordeal in Paris when she was held at gunpoint by robbers

Kim Kardashian has arrived back in the US on a private jet after masked men put a gun to her temple and left her tied up in the bathroom of her luxury residence in Paris. The reality TV star does not appear to be wearing her engagement ring, prompting fears it was stolen in the raid

In a stunning security lapse, her personal bodyguard Pascal Duvier was at a nightclub with her sisters Kourtney and Kendall at the time.

The mother-of-two, 35, pleaded for her life as the thieves bound her hands, taped her mouth and dumped her in a marble bath.

Within hours of her ordeal the ‘hysterical’ star fled Paris by private jet back to New York. 

Last night she was reunited with her rapper husband Kayne West, daughter North, three, and ten-month-old son Saint.

Kardashian's main bodyguard Pascal Duvier - who was not with her at the time of the robbery - returned to New York today

After Kim safely made it inside her hotel in New York City with her husband Kanye West, a ring of security was positioned outside the building 

As French police were said to suspect an Eastern European gang with ‘inside’ help, a source told the New York Post: 'French police suspect that the five alleged robbers had some contact with her security and were tipped off about her procedures. 

'They knew there was no security [with her inside her apartment that night]. All they had to do was go in, make contact with someone inside the hotel. They have issues with story of more than one worker at the hotel. They are also talking to bodyguards who worked with her earlier in the week.' 

It comes as: 

• Her social media updates flaunting her £3.5million diamond engagement ring were blamed for ‘telegraphing’ her whereabouts.

• The raiders, who spoke English with heavy accents, bore the hallmarks of the Pink Panther gang of criminals who have been linked to heists worth £280million.

• It was feared intimate secrets and photos of the star’s family could be revealed after two mobile phones were stolen in the raid.

• Celebrities including British star James Corden rushed to defend Miss Kardashian amid claims it was an elaborate publicity stunt.

• Security was questioned at the five-star Hotel Particulier Pourtales where Madonna and Leonardo DiCaprio have also stayed.

• Her ex-bodyguard Steve Stanulis said it was a ‘crime waiting to happen’ because she and her family lived their lives on social media.

• The drama began at 2.25am yesterday. In ski masks and police uniforms, the gang handcuffed and gagged the concierge of the nine-apartment Hotel Pourtales, which is close to the British Embassy, and forced him at gunpoint to open up the star’s £25,000-a-month flat.

Kim Kardashian was accompanied by her assistant and personal bodyguard as she rushed on to a waiting plane on Monday morning after being robbed at gunpoint

Kim Kardashian's bodyguard Pascal Duvier speaks to airport staff before they take off back to the U.S. on Monday

Just an hour or so before the robbery, Kim posted a video on Snapchat that showed her wearing the engagement ring (left). She posted a video of herself FaceTiming with Blac Chyna during a baby shower with Rob Kardashian

French police officers stand outside the scene of the robbery in Paris on Monday morning

Model Kendall Jenner left a club in Paris where she had been partying and rushed to comfort Kim early on Monday morning 

Kendall Jenner is pictured rushing to be by Kim Kardashian's side after hearing about the armed raid at the apartment

Police and medics are pictured at the scene, along with Kendall Jenner (centre), Jasmine Sanders and Terrence J who left the apartment at 4:30am

Kim went out for dinner on Sunday night and shared the occasion on Snapchat. It was her last snap before she was robbed 

They took a jewellery box worth £5.24million, her 15-carat diamond engagement ring and two smartphones, before fleeing on Velios – hire bicycles which can be rented all over Paris.

At the time her main bodyguard Mr Duvier – who hours earlier had boasted on Twitter that ‘you don’t become a bodyguard overnight... it’s a job with dedication, responsibility and passion’ – was at a Paris club with her sisters Kourtney Kardashian, 37, and Kendall Jenner, 20.

Miss Kardashian, in Paris for Fashion Week, was described as ‘badly shaken but physically unharmed’.

She is one of the most successful social media celebrities in the world, constantly filming herself to promote her various interests.

Kourtney Kardashian was seen out with Kim's bodyguard Pascal Duvier (right) on Sunday night, indicating he was not with Kim when the raid took place 

Kim Kardashian is seen leaving the apartment in a black Mercedes after the shocking attack in Paris 

A woman dressed in a grey coat was led away from the scene by police officers on Monday morning 

She has 81million followers on photo-sharing website Instagram, 29million on Facebook and 48million on Twitter.

Her family are almost as prolific. In fact last night, only hours after the drama, her other sister Kylie Jenner was tweeting about her cosmetics range.

Two hours before the raid Miss Kardashian had flaunted her diamond engagement ring in a video to her army of fans on the messaging website Snapchat.

Armed police stood guard outside the apartment behind the French capital's Madeleine church

Police officers remain at the apartment building in Paris where Kim Kardashian was robbed on Monday morning

French police were seen leaving the house with bags of evidence after the frightening attack on Monday 

A police officer leaves the luxury apartment on Monday after gathering evidence from the scene of the raid 

A woman looks out of a window of the residence of Kim Kardashian West in Paris on Monday 

Police stand guard outside the Paris apartment were Kim was robbed in the early hours of Monday morning

The Hotel Pourtalès was built in 1839 and classified as a historic monument in 2002. It is not a proper hotel, but instead a portered building containing nine flats designed for multi-millionaires.

A French police officer enters the luxury apartment block after Kim was robbed at gunpoint by masked men during Paris Fashion Week

Her husband gave her the piece – her second engagement ring – a month ago and she has been posting pictures of herself wearing it ever since.

After being interviewed by French detectives, Miss Kardashian boarded a private jet at around 10am. In New York police officers, a convoy of SUVs with blacked-out windows and more than 20 bodyguards were waiting for her.

Wearing all black, with her head down and her hair covering her face, she went straight into her Manhattan home with her husband.

West had earlier abandoned a New York concert mid-song, telling fans there was a ‘family emergency’.

New York architect Peter Marino (left) poses with Kim Kardashian (left) and Kourtney Kardashian (right) at the private dinner hosted by Surface Magazine and Azzedine Alaia as part of Paris Fashion Week on Sunday night, hours before the robbery 

Kourtney Kardashian, shoe designer Azzedine Alaia and Kim Kardashian are pictured at the private dinner on Sunday. Kim's huge ring is seen on her left hand 

Showing off: The mother-of-two sported a white two-piece number as she stepped out in Paris 

Pictured is one of the luxurious main rooms in the complex where Kim Kardashian had millions of dollars worth of jewellery stolen by five armed masked men dressed as police officers. The Eiffel Tower can be seen from the window 

Flats in the same Paris block have been rented out for £25,000 a month. The fee includes a private cook, chauffeur and 24 hour concierge

When he first spoke to his wife on the phone, she was ‘terrified’ and ‘just hysterical’, a source told People magazine. ‘He said she was really upset and it took him a few seconds to understand what she was saying to him. He told her that he couldn’t care less about the jewellery, he’s just thankful she’s OK.’

Hidalgo added in a statement that she is fully confident that police forces will quickly identify and arrest those suspected of robbing the U.S. star.

Hidalgo insisted in her statement that the robbery 'in no way calls into question police work or security of public space' in Paris.

Hail Yeezus: Kanye was headlining the two day music and arts festival

Interesting: He reportedly cut his headline set 20 minutes early despite showing up 30 minutes late

Tough times: The 39-year-old rapper was in the middle of his 2008 hit song Heartless when he said: 'I'm sorry. I have a family emergency. I have to stop the show.'

Shortly after the incident, Kanye West ended his concert at Meadows Festival in Queens, New York on Sunday due to a 'family emergency'.

The Meadows Festival is organised by the creators of The Governors Ball. Kanye had been due to play the ball on its third and final day back in June but it was cancelled due to rainstorms.

Many fans took to Twitter expressing their anger that the 39-year-old had walked offstage on Sunday night and there was booing in the crowd. They also said that he was 30 to 40 minutes late for his scheduled performance.  

The robbery had happened ‘really fast’, the source added. ‘Kanye says that it all hit her after the guys had left, and then it sunk in. She is very upset and couldn’t wait to leave Paris. She gave a statement to the police and left right after.

‘She got robbed of her jewellery, but doesn’t care. She is just happy to be alive. She has never been in a more frightening situation.’

Kanye West, Kim Kardashian and Kourtney Kardashian are pictured front row at the Off-White show in Paris on Thursday

Kim Kardashian is pictured in the front row of the Givenchy show (left) and the Balmain show (right) as part of Paris Fashion Week

A photographer believed to have been following Miss Kardashian since she arrived in Paris was being questioned by police last night. He is said to have gained access to a restaurant where she and her family were dining earlier this week by posing as a policeman. 

Security expert Bruce Anderson said Miss Kardashian’s obsessive presence on social media may have been her undoing. He suggested Twitter and Snapchat messages showing her location, combined with photos of her whereabouts and endless photos showing off her jewellery, could have been a toxic combination.

Just an hour prior to Kanye leaving the stage, Kim was active on Snapchat as she posted a video of herself FaceTiming with Blac Chyna during a baby shower with Rob Kardashian.

Peter Kirkham, a former Met Police detective chief inspector, predicted her jewellery would be broken up and sold on, possibly in London.

Her former bodyguard Mr Stanulis said it ‘wouldn’t surprise me’ if the robbery was a PR stunt, adding: ‘If this really did happen, she opened herself up to it.’

But James Corden wrote on Twitter: ‘People would do well to remember that she’s a mother, a daughter, a wife, a friend. Be nice or shut up. 

THE CRIME WITH ALL OF THE HALLMARKS OF THE NOTORIOUS PINK PANTHERS 

The robbery bore the hallmarks of the Pink Panthers, a gang of criminals who have got away with more than £280million in jewels in a series of high-profile raids since 1984.

The crime network, whose members mostly come from Serbia and Montenegro, are known for their thorough planning and for using ‘disguise and the element of surprise’ before overpowering their targets with minimum violence.

In the raid on Miss Kardashian, the five men wore police arm bands, waited until there was little security and spoke English with heavy accents.

The robbery bore the hallmarks of the Pink Panthers, a gang of criminals who have got away with more than £280million in jewels in a series of high-profile raids since 1984

The Pink Panthers got their nickname after a London robbery in 2003 when a thief hid a diamond in a pot of beauty cream, similar to the plot of one of the Pink Panther movies about an inept French detective, played by Peter Sellers. The group, which has hit targets around the world including in Cannes, Tokyo, Singapore and Dubai, are a loose network of around 200 criminals.

Their ruses to gain entry have included dressing as golfers, Hawaiian tourists, workmen and police officers, and for getaway vehicles they have used everything from bicycles in Tokyo to speedboats in St Tropez.

One of the gang’s most audacious crimes was at the Wafi Mall in Dubai in 2007. In two high-powered cars, they smashed their way into the mall. A man in a black bodysuit and balaclava leaped from one car, which then reversed into the door of a Graff Diamonds store.

Armed with a gun and a hammer, he helped himself to £2.1million of diamonds and the gang then sped off, all within 170 seconds. In 1984, three crooks with machine guns stormed into a jewellery shop at the Carlton Hotel in Cannes and cleared its shelves of £39million worth of gems.

In 1984, three crooks with machine guns stormed into a jewellery shop at the Carlton Hotel in Cannes and cleared its shelves of £39million worth of gems

In 2014, Borko Ilincic, a 33-year-old Serbian, was detained by Spanish police in the town of Alcala de Henares, just outside Madrid.

He has been described as one of the ‘leaders’ of the Pink Panthers – but their survival and success depends on them being a loose and non-hierarchical network who work independently in cells, so his arrest may have had no effect on the gang’s effectiveness.

Detectives investigating the Kardashian raid are likely to have contacted colleagues in Madrid, Belgrade and Interpol’s headquarters in Lyon to see if this could have been another robbery by the Pink Panthers or a similar Eastern European gang.