Six Individuals Detained After €12 Million Armed Raid on Gold Processing Laboratory in the French Republic

A team of six suspects equipped with assault rifles and handguns employed explosives to force entry into a precious metals processing plant located in the city of Lyon, causing light wounds to five employees during described as the most recent prominent daytime heist to hit the nation.

The bold operation took place on Thursday late morning, with law enforcement authorities quickly arresting the alleged criminals and securing the stolen items estimated to be worth €12M (£10.5M), officials reported.

Five workers of the gold refining company received light wounds due to the explosion, and three individuals were taken to a medical facility for evaluation, according to regional authorities. A total of twenty-eight staff were present on-site when the thieves struck.

The individuals, thought to be seasoned offenders, were arrested shortly after the incident in the neighboring community of Vénissieux, according to investigative sources.

A woman involved who participated in the heist was also apprehended, officers confirmed.

“Six individuals who utilized explosives in a raid against a gold refining facility in the Lyon area were caught in the act,” the nation's interior minister announced via X, praising officers for their “decisiveness, speed and control”.

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

The heist took place as law enforcement in France on Thursday apprehended five additional individuals, including a primary suspect, in regarding this month's brazen raid on the Louvre museum.

Dozens of investigators have been pursuing four thieves who utilized a lorry featuring an elevating platform and cutting equipment to access a gallery on the first floor at the renowned museum on 19 October, fleeing with precious items estimated to be worth 88 million euros.

In another notable incident, burglars recently broke into the French capital's Natural History Museum, taking gold specimens worth over $1 million. A woman from China, aged 24 was taken into custody recently in Barcelona in connection with the break-in, according to legal authorities.

The sequence of heists has sparked worry in the country regarding lax security at museums and various establishments containing precious artifacts.