Six Suspects Apprehended After €12M Heist on Gold Refining Lab in France

A team of six suspects carrying military-grade weapons detonated charges to breach the security of a precious metals processing plant located in the city of Lyon, causing light wounds to five employees during what is being called the most recent prominent broad daylight robbery to occur in the country.

The bold operation occurred on Thursday late morning, with officers rapidly detaining the alleged criminals and securing the stolen items valued at approximately €12M (10.5 million pounds), as stated by authorities.

Five staff members of Laboratoires Pourquery sustained minor injuries as a result of the detonation, and three of them were transported to hospital for examination, the regional prefecture announced. A total of twenty-eight staff were inside the facility when the robbers attacked.

The individuals, considered career criminals, were arrested soon afterwards in the nearby town of Vénissieux, France, authorities revealed.

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

“Six suspects who used detonations in an assault targeting a precious metals company in Lyon were caught in the act,” the nation's interior minister declared on social media, commending law enforcement for their “quick action, authority and management”.

Assault rifles, handguns and explosives were also confiscated.

The robbery occurred as French police on the same day apprehended five additional individuals, featuring a main perpetrator, in regarding this month's brazen raid on the Louvre museum.

Numerous detectives have been searching for four robbers who employed a truck featuring an elevating platform and cutting equipment to access a gallery on the first floor at the renowned museum on October 19th, escaping with jewelry valued at approximately €88 million.

In a separate high-profile case, burglars recently entered illegally the French capital's Natural History Museum, stealing gold samples valued at more than one million dollars. A woman from China, aged 24 was apprehended in the current month in Barcelona, Spain in relation to the burglary, officials confirmed.

This series of robberies has raised concerns in France regarding insufficient protection at cultural venues and other facilities housing valuable items.