Six Arrested After €12 Million Heist on Precious Metals Facility in the French Republic

A team of six suspects equipped with military-grade weapons detonated charges to breach the security of a gold refining laboratory located in Lyon, causing light wounds to five staff members during what is being called the most recent prominent daylight theft to occur in the nation.

The audacious robbery was carried out on Thursday afternoon, with officers swiftly apprehending the alleged criminals and securing the stolen items assessed at around €12M (£10.5M), officials reported.

Five workers of the precious metals facility sustained minor injuries from the blast, and three of them were transported to hospital for examination, according to regional authorities. Twenty-eight employees were at the location when the perpetrators raided.

Those arrested, considered career criminals, were taken into custody soon afterwards in the nearby town of Vénissieux, authorities revealed.

A female participant who took part in the robbery was likewise arrested, according to law enforcement.

“Six suspects who utilized explosives in a raid against a gold refining facility in Lyon were arrested at the scene,” the French interior minister announced via X, praising officers for their “quick action, authority and management”.

Assault rifles, handguns and explosives were also confiscated.

The raid happened as authorities on the same day arrested five more suspects, including a primary suspect, in regarding the recent audacious theft at the Louvre.

Many investigative personnel have been hunting four robbers who used a vehicle featuring an elevating platform and cutting gear to breach a first-floor gallery at the museum on 19 October, making off with jewelry valued at approximately €88M.

In a separate high-profile case, burglars recently entered illegally the French capital's Natural History Museum, making off with gold samples worth over $1 million. A young Chinese female was arrested earlier this month in Barcelona, Spain in regarding the theft, according to legal authorities.

The sequence of heists has generated apprehension in the nation regarding lax security at cultural venues and other facilities housing valuable items.