Six Individuals Detained After 12 Million Euro Armed Raid on Gold Processing Laboratory in France

A team of six suspects carrying assault rifles and handguns detonated charges to force entry into a precious metals processing plant located in Lyon, France, resulting in minor injuries to five staff members during what is being called the latest high-profile daytime heist to hit the nation.

The audacious robbery took place on the afternoon of Thursday, with officers quickly arresting the individuals believed responsible and retrieving the loot estimated to be worth €12M (£10.5M), according to officials.

Five employees of the gold refining company sustained minor injuries from the blast, and three individuals were transported to hospital for evaluation, the regional prefecture announced. A total of twenty-eight staff were at the location when the thieves struck.

The suspects, considered seasoned offenders, were arrested soon afterwards in the adjacent municipality of the town of Vénissieux, a source close to the investigation stated.

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

“Six suspects who used detonations in an assault targeting a gold refining facility in Lyon, France were arrested at the scene,” the French interior minister stated online, praising officers for their “quick action, authority and management”.

Military-style weapons, pistols and explosive materials were likewise seized.

The raid happened as authorities on Thursday detained five further people, among them a key figure, in regarding this month's brazen raid on the Louvre museum.

Many investigative personnel have been pursuing four thieves who used a vehicle equipped with a moving lift and cutting equipment to breach a first-floor gallery at the museum on 19 October, escaping with precious items estimated to be worth €88 million.

In a different significant robbery, burglars recently entered illegally the Natural History Museum in Paris, making off with gold samples estimated at exceeding $1M. A 24-year-old Chinese woman was arrested earlier this month in the city of Barcelona in relation to the burglary, according to legal authorities.

This series of robberies has raised concerns in France regarding inadequate security measures at cultural venues and other facilities holding high-value objects.