Six Arrested After €12 Million Armed Raid on Gold Refining Lab in France

A team of six suspects carrying high-powered firearms used explosive devices to force entry into a precious metals processing plant located in Lyon, France, resulting in minor injuries to five employees during what is being called the newest significant daylight theft to hit France.

The audacious robbery occurred on Thursday late morning, with officers swiftly apprehending the alleged criminals and recovering the stolen goods estimated to be worth €12M (£10.5 million), officials reported.

Five workers of Laboratoires Pourquery sustained minor injuries from the blast, and three employees were transported to hospital for examination, officials confirmed. A total of twenty-eight staff were inside the facility when the robbers attacked.

Those arrested, considered seasoned offenders, were arrested shortly after the incident in the adjacent municipality of Vénissieux, according to investigative sources.

A woman involved involved in the robbery was likewise arrested, according to law enforcement.

“Six individuals who used detonations in an attack on a metals processing plant in Lyon were apprehended red-handed,” France's security official declared on social media, commending law enforcement for their “firmness, rapid response and command”.

Assault rifles, handguns and explosives were also confiscated.

The heist took place as authorities on the same day arrested five more suspects, among them a key figure, in regarding the recent audacious raid on the Louvre museum.

Numerous detectives have been pursuing four perpetrators who utilized a lorry featuring an elevating platform and cutting tools to access a gallery on the first floor at the prestigious institution on the nineteenth of October, escaping with ornaments assessed at around €88M.

In a different significant robbery, robbers the previous month forced their way into the French capital's Natural History Museum, stealing gold samples estimated at exceeding $1M. A woman from China, aged 24 was arrested earlier this month in the city of Barcelona in regarding the theft, officials confirmed.

The string of thefts has sparked worry in France regarding inadequate security measures at museums and other institutions housing valuable items.