Thieves stayed in Kim Kardashian's apartment for 'up to an hour'

A Paris judicial police source says the gang of robbers stayed put in and around Kim Kardashian's apartment for up to 49 minutes. Photo / AP

Startling new details have surfaced about Kim Kardashian's terrifying Paris robbery, with fresh reports that the gang of men who broke into her luxury apartment in the French capital stayed for nearly an hour.

A Paris judicial police source tells US Weekly that the gang of robbers stayed put in and around Kim's apartment for up to 49 minutes, which is in contrast to earlier reports that stated the men were in and out in a matter of minutes.

"They acted like they had all the time in the world," the police insider told US Weekly. "It is quite incredible that they managed to hang about for so long without anyone calling us."

Kim Kardashian has kept an uncharacteristically low profile since the terrifying ordeal. Photo / AP

It is understood authorities used footage from a traffic camera to determine how long the gang had been at Kardashian's private residence in the Hôtel de Pourtalès.

With mounting speculation since the robbery occurred that it was an inside job, the source makes another startling claim: the robbers were able to let themselves in.

The first three suspects arrived on bicycles clad in black jackets at 2:18am.

"They clearly knew the security code of the main doors, and let themselves in without any problem at all."

The remaining two men arrived on foot fourteen minutes later and used the same entrance to gain access to the building.

DNA traces have been found inside the apartment Kardashian was staying in, a source told AFP last week.

It comes as French prosecutors formally opened an investigation into the robbery in which the US reality TV star lost millions in jewellery.

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The investigation is focusing on "armed theft in a gang, criminal conspiracy and kidnapping," another source said.

The men who burst into the residence in the early hours of October 3 tied up Kardashian and stole jewellery worth around $14 million.