Six Individuals Detained After €12M Heist on Gold Processing Laboratory in the French Republic

A group of six individuals using military-grade weapons employed explosives to breach the security of a gold treatment facility 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 bold operation was carried out on Thursday afternoon, with law enforcement authorities quickly arresting the suspected perpetrators and securing the stolen items assessed at around €12M (10.5 million pounds), officials reported.

Five staff members of the precious metals facility sustained minor injuries from the blast, and three of them were transported to hospital for evaluation, the regional prefecture announced. A total of twenty-eight staff were inside the facility when the perpetrators raided.

The individuals, believed to be career criminals, were arrested a brief time later in the neighboring community of Vénissieux, according to investigative sources.

A woman involved involved in the raid was taken into custody as well, officers confirmed.

“Six individuals who utilized explosives in a raid against a metals processing plant in Lyon, France were arrested at the scene,” the nation's interior minister declared on social media, praising officers for their “decisiveness, speed and control”.

Assault rifles, handguns and explosives were recovered as well.

The raid happened as French police on the same day arrested five more suspects, among them a key figure, in connection with this month's brazen theft at the Louvre.

Numerous detectives have been pursuing four robbers who utilized a lorry featuring an elevating platform and cutting gear to access a gallery on the first floor at the museum on October 19th, fleeing with precious items estimated to be worth 88 million euros.

In another notable incident, burglars recently broke into the Natural History Museum in Paris, stealing gold samples estimated at exceeding $1M. A 24-year-old Chinese woman was arrested earlier this month in Barcelona in relation to the burglary, officials confirmed.

The string of thefts has generated apprehension in the country regarding insufficient protection at cultural venues and other facilities containing precious artifacts.