Six Arrested After €12M Robbery on Precious Metals Facility in the French Republic

A team of six suspects equipped with military-grade weapons detonated charges to force entry into a gold treatment facility located in Lyon, resulting in minor injuries to five workers during what is being called the newest significant broad daylight robbery to occur in the country.

The daring raid occurred on Thursday afternoon, with officers quickly arresting the alleged criminals and retrieving the loot estimated to be worth 12 million euros (10.5 million pounds), officials reported.

Five employees of the gold refining company received light wounds as a result of the detonation, and three individuals were taken to a medical facility for assessment, the regional prefecture announced. Twenty-eight employees were at the location when the thieves struck.

The individuals, believed to be career criminals, were detained shortly after the incident in the adjacent municipality of the town of Vénissieux, according to investigative sources.

A woman involved who took part in the raid was taken into custody as well, officers confirmed.

“Six people who utilized explosives in an attack on a metals processing plant in Lyon, France were arrested at the scene,” the French interior minister declared on social media, lauding police for their “quick action, authority and management”.

Assault rifles, handguns and explosives were recovered as well.

The heist took place as authorities on Thursday detained five further people, featuring a main perpetrator, in connection with the recent audacious theft at the Louvre.

Many investigative personnel have been hunting four perpetrators who utilized a lorry with a hydraulic lift and cutting equipment to access a gallery on the first floor at the prestigious institution on October 19th, fleeing with ornaments assessed at around 88 million euros.

In a separate high-profile case, burglars recently entered illegally the Natural History Museum in Paris, taking gold specimens estimated at exceeding $1M. A young Chinese female was apprehended in the current month in the city of Barcelona in relation to the burglary, officials confirmed.

This series of robberies has generated apprehension in France regarding insufficient protection at cultural venues and other facilities containing precious artifacts.