Six Individuals Detained After €12 Million Armed Raid on Gold Refining Lab in France

A group of six individuals equipped with assault rifles and handguns employed explosives to breach the security of a precious metals processing plant located in Lyon, causing light wounds to five employees during what appears to be the most recent prominent broad daylight robbery to hit the nation.

The daring raid occurred on Thursday afternoon, with officers quickly arresting the suspected perpetrators and securing the stolen items estimated to be worth €12 million (£10.5 million), as stated by authorities.

Five employees of the precious metals facility were slightly hurt from the blast, and three individuals required hospital checks for assessment, according to regional authorities. A total of twenty-eight staff were inside the facility when the perpetrators raided.

Those arrested, thought to be experienced criminals, were arrested soon afterwards in the nearby town of Vénissieux, according to investigative sources.

A female accomplice who participated in the heist was also apprehended, according to law enforcement.

“Six suspects who used detonations in an assault targeting a precious metals company in Lyon, France were arrested at the scene,” the French interior minister stated online, lauding police for their “decisiveness, speed and control”.

Military-style weapons, pistols and explosive materials were also confiscated.

The raid happened as law enforcement in France on the same day arrested five more suspects, featuring a main perpetrator, in connection with the bold theft at the Louvre.

Numerous detectives have been searching for four thieves who employed a truck with a hydraulic lift and cutting equipment to break into an upper-level exhibition space at the renowned museum on 19 October, making off with ornaments assessed at around €88 million.

In another notable incident, thieves last month forced their way into the Natural History Museum in Paris, taking gold specimens worth over $1 million. A 24-year-old Chinese woman was arrested earlier this month in Barcelona, Spain in regarding the theft, according to legal authorities.

The string of thefts has sparked worry in the nation regarding insufficient protection at cultural venues and other facilities housing valuable items.