Six Individuals Detained Following 12 Million Euro Robbery on Gold Refining Lab in France

A team of six suspects carrying military-grade weapons used explosive devices to break into a precious metals processing plant located in Lyon, France, slightly injuring five staff members during described as the most recent prominent broad daylight robbery to hit France.

The daring raid was carried out on Thursday afternoon, with law enforcement authorities quickly arresting the suspected perpetrators and securing the stolen items estimated to be worth €12 million (£10.5 million), officials reported.

Five employees of the precious metals facility received light wounds due to the explosion, and three employees were transported to hospital for assessment, the regional prefecture announced. Twenty-eight workers were present on-site when the perpetrators raided.

Those arrested, considered seasoned offenders, were detained soon afterwards in the adjacent municipality of Vénissieux, France, according to investigative sources.

A woman involved who participated in the raid was taken into custody as well, according to law enforcement.

“Six individuals who employed explosive devices in a raid against a gold refining facility in the Lyon area were apprehended red-handed,” France's security official stated online, commending law enforcement for their “quick action, authority and management”.

High-caliber firearms, handguns and detonation devices were also confiscated.

The raid happened as law enforcement in France on Thursday arrested five more suspects, among them a key figure, in relation to the bold Louvre museum robbery.

Many investigative personnel have been searching for four thieves who employed a truck with a hydraulic lift and cutting tools to access a gallery on the first floor at the museum on 19 October, fleeing with ornaments assessed at around 88 million euros.

In a different significant robbery, burglars recently entered illegally the Natural History Museum in Paris, making off with gold samples valued at more than one million dollars. A 24-year-old Chinese woman was apprehended in the current month in Barcelona, Spain in connection with the break-in, prosecutors stated.

This series of robberies has sparked worry in the nation regarding insufficient protection at museums and other institutions containing precious artifacts.