Kate Middleton Photos: Scandal And Hunt For Photographer Of The Topless Pics

The hunt is on. 

Police stormed the headquarters of Closer magazine on Wednesday morning, Sept. 19, looking for information on the photographer who took the topless photos of Kate Middleton.  

Closer is the French magazine to first publish the nude and scandelous photos of Middleton.

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Despite efforts by royals to stop the spread of the photos, and a French court order to top it all off, the nude images have already been published in France, Italy, Ireland and across the web.

Police officers arrived at the Closer building in France at 10 a.m., and detectives confirmed to reporters that they were looking for information "which might lead to the identity" of the photographer responsible for the scandal, according to Daily News & Analysis.

A separate criminal investigation has been opened to look into charges that Closer and the photographer of the topless photos breached invasion of privacy rights of Middleton and Prince Harry by publishing the photos. 

The site also stated that the confidentiality of journalistic sources, including information on associated photographers, are strictly protected by French law. In other words, it is hard to justify a police search of Closer's offices. 

The police raid happened on the same day that the royal couple won an injection set by a French court to ban further distribution of the topless photos. 

A French court stopped further distribution of the nude photos of  Middleton and ordered Closer to hand over all the photos they published within 24 hours, according to ABC News. Though many have already been distributed, the court ruling included that no more copies of the magazine with Middleton's topless photos can be printed. The magazine will also face a $12,000 fine every time they defy the ruling. However, there was no order to hand over the name of the photographer involved.