Six Individuals Detained Following €12 Million Robbery on Gold Processing Laboratory in the French Republic

A group of six individuals carrying military-grade weapons employed explosives to break into a precious metals processing plant located in the city of Lyon, slightly injuring five employees during what appears to be the most recent prominent daylight theft to hit the country.

The daring raid took place on Thursday late morning, with police forces swiftly apprehending the suspected perpetrators and securing the stolen items estimated to be worth €12 million (£10.5 million), officials reported.

Five workers of the gold refining company were slightly hurt as a result of the detonation, and three of them were taken to a medical facility for evaluation, the regional prefecture announced. A total of twenty-eight staff were at the location when the perpetrators raided.

The suspects, thought to be experienced criminals, were taken into custody a brief time later in the neighboring community of the town of Vénissieux, a source close to the investigation stated.

A woman involved who participated in the raid was also apprehended, according to law enforcement.

“Six people who used detonations in an assault targeting a gold refining facility in Lyon were arrested at the scene,” the nation's interior minister announced via X, commending law enforcement for their “firmness, rapid response and command”.

Military-style weapons, pistols and explosive materials were recovered as well.

The heist took place as French police on that Thursday arrested five more suspects, featuring a main perpetrator, in relation to the recent audacious theft at the Louvre.

Dozens of investigators have been hunting four thieves who used a vehicle featuring an elevating platform and cutting gear to breach a first-floor gallery at the prestigious institution on October 19th, making off with precious items estimated to be worth 88 million euros.

In a different significant robbery, robbers the previous month entered illegally the Natural History Museum in Paris, making off with gold samples worth over $1 million. A woman from China, aged 24 was arrested earlier this month in Barcelona, Spain in relation to the burglary, prosecutors stated.

The sequence of heists has sparked worry in the nation regarding insufficient protection at cultural venues and other facilities containing precious artifacts.