Six Suspects Apprehended After €12 Million Robbery on Gold Processing Laboratory in France

Six armed perpetrators equipped with military-grade weapons detonated charges to break into a precious metals processing plant located in Lyon, France, resulting in minor injuries to five staff members during what is being called the most recent prominent daylight theft to affect the country.

The daring raid occurred on Thursday late morning, with police forces rapidly detaining the suspected perpetrators and retrieving the loot estimated to be worth 12 million euros (10.5 million pounds), as stated by authorities.

Five workers of the gold refining company received light wounds as a result of the detonation, and three employees were taken to a medical facility for examination, officials confirmed. Twenty-eight employees were present on-site when the thieves struck.

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

A female accomplice who took part in the raid was also apprehended, officers confirmed.

“Six suspects who utilized explosives in a raid against a precious metals company in Lyon, France were arrested at the scene,” the French interior minister announced via X, praising officers for their “firmness, rapid response and command”.

Assault rifles, handguns and explosives were recovered as well.

The robbery occurred as French police on that Thursday arrested five more suspects, among them a key figure, in connection with the bold theft at the Louvre.

Many investigative personnel have been pursuing four thieves who utilized a lorry with a hydraulic lift and cutting gear to breach a first-floor gallery at the renowned museum on 19 October, fleeing with ornaments assessed at around €88 million.

In a different significant robbery, burglars recently broke into the Natural History Museum in Paris, taking gold specimens valued at more than one million dollars. A woman from China, aged 24 was arrested earlier this month in Barcelona, Spain in connection with the break-in, prosecutors stated.

The string of thefts has raised concerns in the country regarding lax security at museums and other institutions containing precious artifacts.