After news broke of Kim Kardashian’s terrifying attack in Paris her hotel room, people were quick to speculate who might have been responsible for the attack.
The 35-year-old mother-of-two was reportedly bound with packing tape and forced into the bathtub at gunpoint in her luxury apartment by as many as five men who had posed as police officers.
The reality star was thankfully unharmed but obviously shaken by the incident, where more than $14 million worth of jewellery was stolen, with her engagement ring as well as a new ring gifted to her by husband Kanye West – believed to be amongst it.
RELATED: Why Is The Internet Mocking Kim Kardashian After She Was The Victim Of A Violent Crime?
While the internet is running rife with conspiracy theories, one seems to be gaining serious traction: The notorious international jewel thieves known as the Pink Panthers were behind it.
The gang, believed to consist of up to 200 members (some reports say 400) from Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia have been targeting high-profile figures since the early 1990s.
Their style is smash and grab – Kim’s attack is believed to have gone down in just six minutes – and their infamous heists have seen them come away with a $31 million diamond necklace stolen in Tokyo, $136 million worth of jewels from the Carlton International Hotel in Cannes.
Former member of the gang Palve “Punch” Stanimirovic spoke to The Daily Beast about the attack, describing it as “the perfect crime” and adding that Kim was an “easy Target”.
RELATED: Celebrities Rally Around Kim Kardashian As Critics Lash Out Following Paris Attacks
“Kim Kardashian is very active on social media,” he told The Daily Beast. “She likes to expose what she has. She had a diamond ring that’s worth $4-5 million. She puts it on social media and therefore everybody else knows about it. This happened to her at this hotel she stayed in.”
“Everybody knows that Kim Kardashian is an easy target,” Stanimirovic told the outlet. “She’s by herself and you know who the people are that work in the service industry in Paris and all over Europe.”
“They have friends that have friends that have friends,” he continued. “It’s so easy to pick up a phone and say ‘hey Kim Kardashian is here in room so and so.'”
According to TIME, the group (yes they’re named after the 1963 movie) has netted around $US372 million in some 380 heists since 1999 across Europe, Dubai, Japan and more.
Police have made several arrests of key figures from the gang in recent years, believing their influence to be waning, while Interpol ended it’s nine-year investigation into the gang earlier this year.
Police are still investigating the attack and are yet to comment on who was was behind it.