Six Suspects Apprehended Following €12 Million Robbery on Gold Refining Lab in France

A group of six individuals carrying military-grade weapons used explosive devices to break into a precious metals processing plant located in Lyon, resulting in minor injuries to five workers during described as the latest high-profile daytime heist to affect France.

The daring raid took place on Thursday late morning, with officers quickly arresting the alleged criminals and retrieving the loot valued at approximately 12 million euros (£10.5 million), according to officials.

Five employees of the precious metals facility sustained minor injuries as a result of the detonation, and three individuals required hospital checks for evaluation, the regional prefecture announced. Twenty-eight employees were inside the facility when the robbers attacked.

Those arrested, believed to be experienced criminals, were arrested soon afterwards in the neighboring community of the town of Vénissieux, authorities revealed.

A female accomplice who participated in the heist was likewise arrested, a police source indicated.

“Six suspects who utilized explosives in a raid against a precious metals company in Lyon were caught in the act,” the French interior minister declared on social media, lauding police for their “decisiveness, speed and control”.

Military-style weapons, pistols and explosive materials were also confiscated.

The heist took place as French police on Thursday arrested five more suspects, including a primary suspect, in relation to the bold theft at the Louvre.

Many investigative personnel have been pursuing four thieves who employed a truck equipped with a moving lift and cutting equipment to breach a first-floor gallery at the prestigious institution on 19 October, fleeing with jewelry valued at approximately €88M.

In another notable incident, robbers the previous month broke into the Parisian museum of natural history, stealing gold samples estimated at exceeding $1M. A 24-year-old Chinese woman was apprehended in the current month in the city of Barcelona in connection with the break-in, officials confirmed.

The sequence of heists has raised concerns in the country regarding lax security at museums and other institutions holding high-value objects.