Six Suspects Apprehended After €12 Million Armed Raid on Gold Processing Laboratory in the French Republic

A group of six individuals carrying military-grade weapons used explosive devices to force entry into a gold refining laboratory located in Lyon, resulting in minor injuries to five workers during what is being called the latest high-profile daylight theft to hit France.

The bold operation took place on the afternoon of Thursday, with law enforcement authorities swiftly apprehending the suspected perpetrators and securing the stolen items valued at approximately €12 million (£10.5M), as stated by authorities.

Five employees of the gold refining company received light wounds due to the explosion, and three individuals required hospital checks for assessment, the regional prefecture announced. A total of twenty-eight staff were inside the facility when the robbers attacked.

The suspects, believed to be seasoned offenders, were arrested soon afterwards in the nearby town of Vénissieux, France, according to investigative sources.

A woman involved involved in the raid was likewise arrested, according to law enforcement.

“Six individuals who used detonations in a raid against a metals processing plant in the Lyon area were arrested at the scene,” the French interior minister stated online, lauding police for their “decisiveness, speed and control”.

High-caliber firearms, handguns and detonation devices were likewise seized.

The raid happened as authorities on Thursday detained five further people, featuring a main perpetrator, in regarding the bold theft at the Louvre.

Numerous detectives 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 October 19th, fleeing with jewelry valued at approximately 88 million euros.

In a different significant robbery, thieves last month broke into the Natural History Museum in Paris, stealing gold samples worth over $1 million. A woman from China, aged 24 was arrested earlier this month in the city of Barcelona in regarding the theft, prosecutors stated.

This series of robberies has raised concerns in the country regarding insufficient protection at cultural venues and other facilities containing precious artifacts.