Kim Kardashian's armed robbery case referred to specialist police unit

The investigation into Kim Kardashian's Paris robbery has been taken over by specialist agents from the city's elite crime unit.

Kanye West's wife has been laying low at her Los Angeles home ever since the ordeal on 3 October (16), when she was bound, gagged, and robbed of valuables by an armed gang in her private apartment.

Kim immediately reported the incident to French authorities, and they have been trying to identify and track down the suspects ever since.

Now Paris Police Chief Christian Sainte has opened up about the nature of the crime for the first time with the international media, telling Vanity Fair the case is in the hands of top armed robbery and organized crime experts in the La Brigade de Repression du Banditisme (B.R.B.) unit.

Detectives have yet to make any arrests, and while Sainte has not revealed if the masked men have been identified, he admits, "There is a professional team that committed this crime, and they seem to be organized."

"That's why the B.R.B. is on the case," he continued. "The B.R.B. has experience with people who attack with arms, and a big part of the brigade is now working on the Kim Kardashian case."

Sainte also shut down erroneous speculation suggesting the robbery claims were faked, declaring, "At this time, there is no doubt about the reality of the crime."

And he remains "very confident" authorities will find those responsible for the heist, adding, "It's important because of the implication: Is Paris secure? It's important economically. So that's another reason why it is important for us to solve this case."

The police chief's comments emerge a week after Kim's Paris barrister, Jean Veil, insisted the mother-of-two, 36, is determined to do whatever it takes to put the men who robbed her at gunpoint behind bars.

"She is very calm and very determined over a matter that was particularly violent," Veil said. "If she is summoned to France, she will come to France, but judges also have the possibility of moving (the case to the United States)."

According to Veil, the culprits reportedly face charges of armed robbery by an organized gang, criminal conspiracy and kidnapping.