Six Arrested Following €12M Heist on Gold Processing Laboratory in the French Republic

A team of six suspects equipped with assault rifles and handguns detonated charges to break into a gold treatment facility located in Lyon, slightly injuring five employees during what is being called the newest significant daytime heist to occur in the country.

The bold operation was carried out on Thursday afternoon, with law enforcement authorities quickly arresting the individuals believed responsible and securing the stolen items valued at approximately €12M (£10.5M), officials reported.

Five workers of the precious metals facility sustained minor injuries as a result of the detonation, and three employees were transported to hospital for evaluation, officials confirmed. A total of twenty-eight staff were inside the facility when the perpetrators raided.

The suspects, thought to be experienced criminals, were detained soon afterwards in the neighboring community of the town of Vénissieux, a source close to the investigation stated.

A woman involved who participated in the robbery was taken into custody as well, according to law enforcement.

“Six people who utilized explosives in an attack on a metals processing plant in Lyon were apprehended red-handed,” the French interior minister stated online, commending law enforcement for their “quick action, authority and management”.

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

The robbery occurred as authorities on Thursday arrested five more suspects, featuring a main perpetrator, in relation to the recent audacious Louvre museum robbery.

Many investigative personnel have been searching for four robbers who employed a truck equipped with a moving lift and cutting equipment to access a gallery on the first floor at the prestigious institution on October 19th, making off with jewelry valued at approximately 88 million euros.

In a separate high-profile case, burglars recently forced their way into the Natural History Museum in Paris, stealing gold samples worth over $1 million. A young Chinese female was apprehended in the current month in Barcelona, Spain in relation to the burglary, according to legal authorities.

The sequence of heists has generated apprehension in the country regarding lax security at museums and various establishments holding high-value objects.