Six Arrested Following 12 Million Euro Heist on Precious Metals Facility in France

A group of six individuals equipped with high-powered firearms used explosive devices to break into a precious metals processing plant located in Lyon, France, slightly injuring five workers during described as the most recent prominent daylight theft to hit the nation.

The daring raid took place on Thursday late morning, with police forces quickly arresting the alleged criminals and retrieving the loot estimated to be worth €12M (10.5 million pounds), according to officials.

Five employees of the gold refining company were slightly hurt as a result of the detonation, and three individuals required hospital checks for examination, the regional prefecture announced. Twenty-eight employees were inside the facility when the robbers attacked.

Those arrested, believed to be career criminals, were arrested shortly after the incident in the adjacent municipality of Vénissieux, France, according to investigative sources.

A woman involved who participated in the robbery was taken into custody as well, a police source indicated.

“Six suspects who used detonations in an attack on a gold refining facility in the Lyon area were caught in the act,” the French interior minister stated online, commending law enforcement for their “firmness, rapid response and command”.

Assault rifles, handguns and explosives were likewise seized.

The robbery occurred as French police on the same day arrested five more suspects, among them a key figure, in relation to the bold raid on the Louvre museum.

Many investigative personnel have been pursuing four thieves who used a vehicle with a hydraulic lift and cutting gear to break into an upper-level exhibition space at the renowned museum on 19 October, fleeing with ornaments assessed at around €88 million.

In a separate high-profile case, thieves last month entered illegally the Parisian museum of natural history, making off with gold samples estimated at exceeding $1M. A young Chinese female was apprehended in the current month in Barcelona, Spain in relation to the burglary, according to legal authorities.

The string of thefts has generated apprehension in the nation regarding insufficient protection at museums and other institutions housing valuable items.