Six Suspects Apprehended Following €12M Robbery on Precious Metals Facility in France

A team of six suspects using assault rifles and handguns employed explosives to breach the security of a gold refining laboratory located in Lyon, France, resulting in minor injuries to five employees during what appears to be the newest significant broad daylight robbery to occur in France.

The daring raid occurred on Thursday late morning, with officers swiftly apprehending the alleged criminals and retrieving the loot assessed at around 12 million euros (10.5 million pounds), according to officials.

Five workers of Laboratoires Pourquery sustained minor injuries as a result of the detonation, and three employees were taken to a medical facility for evaluation, officials confirmed. Twenty-eight workers were inside the facility when the perpetrators raided.

The suspects, considered career criminals, were taken into custody a brief time later in the adjacent municipality of Vénissieux, according to investigative sources.

A female participant involved in the heist was taken into custody as well, according to law enforcement.

“Six suspects who used detonations in a raid against a metals processing plant in Lyon were arrested at the scene,” France's security official stated online, lauding police for their “firmness, rapid response and command”.

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

The raid happened as authorities on that Thursday apprehended five additional individuals, featuring a main perpetrator, in relation to the recent audacious raid on the Louvre museum.

Dozens of investigators have been searching for four thieves who employed a truck featuring an elevating platform and cutting equipment to access a gallery on the first floor at the prestigious institution on the nineteenth of October, making off with jewelry valued at approximately €88 million.

In a separate high-profile case, robbers the previous month forced their way into the Natural History Museum in Paris, taking gold specimens estimated at exceeding $1M. A 24-year-old Chinese woman was arrested earlier this month in Barcelona in regarding the theft, prosecutors stated.

This series of robberies has raised concerns in the country regarding lax security at museums and various establishments containing precious artifacts.