Six Individuals Detained After €12M Robbery on Precious Metals Facility in France

A team of six suspects equipped with assault rifles and handguns employed explosives to breach the security of a precious metals processing plant located in the city of Lyon, resulting in minor injuries to five staff members during what appears to be the newest significant broad daylight robbery to occur in the country.

The daring raid was carried out on Thursday late morning, with law enforcement authorities swiftly apprehending the alleged criminals and retrieving the loot assessed at around €12M (£10.5 million), officials reported.

Five employees of the gold refining company were slightly hurt as a result of the detonation, and three of them were transported to hospital for examination, according to regional authorities. Twenty-eight workers were inside the facility when the perpetrators raided.

The suspects, considered experienced criminals, were arrested shortly after the incident in the neighboring community of the town of Vénissieux, authorities revealed.

A woman involved who took part in the heist was also apprehended, according to law enforcement.

“Six individuals who used detonations in an attack on a gold refining facility in Lyon were caught in the act,” France's security official declared on social media, lauding police for their “firmness, rapid response and command”.

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

The raid happened as authorities on the same day detained five further people, including a primary suspect, in connection with the recent audacious theft at the Louvre.

Numerous detectives have been pursuing four thieves who used a vehicle with a hydraulic lift and cutting equipment to break into an upper-level exhibition space at the renowned museum on 19 October, escaping with ornaments assessed at around 88 million euros.

In another notable incident, robbers the previous month entered illegally the Natural History Museum in Paris, making off with gold samples valued at more than one million dollars. A young Chinese female was taken into custody recently in Barcelona in connection with the break-in, according to legal authorities.

The string of thefts has sparked worry in the country regarding inadequate security measures at museums and other institutions holding high-value objects.