Six Arrested After 12 Million Euro Heist on Gold Processing Laboratory in the French Republic

A team of six suspects equipped with military-grade weapons used explosive devices to force entry into a precious metals processing plant located in the city of Lyon, slightly injuring five workers during what appears to be the most recent prominent daytime heist to hit the country.

The bold operation took place on the afternoon of Thursday, with officers swiftly apprehending the alleged criminals and retrieving the loot valued at approximately €12 million (10.5 million pounds), officials reported.

Five employees of Laboratoires Pourquery received light wounds from the blast, and three of them were taken to a medical facility for evaluation, officials confirmed. A total of twenty-eight staff were inside the facility when the perpetrators raided.

The individuals, considered experienced criminals, were arrested a brief time later in the nearby town of Vénissieux, France, authorities revealed.

A female participant who participated in the robbery was taken into custody as well, officers confirmed.

“Six people who employed explosive devices in an attack on a gold refining facility in Lyon, France were arrested at the scene,” France's security official announced via X, commending law enforcement for their “quick action, authority and management”.

High-caliber firearms, handguns and detonation devices were recovered as well.

The robbery occurred as authorities on that Thursday apprehended five additional individuals, among them a key figure, in relation to this month's brazen raid on the Louvre museum.

Dozens of investigators have been hunting four perpetrators who utilized a lorry with a hydraulic lift and cutting tools to access a gallery on the first floor at the museum on 19 October, escaping with precious items estimated to be worth 88 million euros.

In another notable incident, robbers the previous month entered illegally the Parisian museum of natural history, making off with gold samples estimated at exceeding $1M. A young Chinese female was taken into custody recently in Barcelona in connection with the break-in, according to legal authorities.

This series of robberies has generated apprehension in the nation regarding inadequate security measures at cultural venues and other facilities housing valuable items.