Six Arrested After €12M Heist on Precious Metals Facility in France

A group of six individuals carrying assault rifles and handguns employed explosives to breach the security of a gold treatment facility located in the city of Lyon, resulting in minor injuries to five employees during what is being called the latest high-profile daylight theft to occur in the nation.

The daring raid occurred on the afternoon of Thursday, with officers swiftly apprehending the alleged criminals and securing the stolen items valued at approximately €12 million (£10.5M), as stated by authorities.

Five staff members of the gold refining company received light wounds due to the explosion, and three individuals required hospital checks for assessment, according to regional authorities. A total of twenty-eight staff were present on-site when the robbers attacked.

The suspects, believed to be career criminals, were taken into custody soon afterwards in the nearby town of Vénissieux, France, authorities revealed.

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

“Six people who employed explosive devices in an attack on a metals processing plant in Lyon were arrested at the scene,” the nation's interior minister declared on social media, praising officers for their “decisiveness, speed and control”.

Assault rifles, handguns and explosives were also confiscated.

The robbery occurred as authorities on that Thursday detained five further people, including a primary suspect, in relation to this month's brazen raid on the Louvre museum.

Dozens of investigators have been pursuing four thieves who used a vehicle 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 precious items estimated to be worth €88M.

In a separate high-profile case, burglars recently entered illegally the French capital's Natural History Museum, stealing gold samples estimated at exceeding $1M. A woman from China, aged 24 was taken into custody recently in the city of Barcelona in regarding the theft, officials confirmed.

The sequence of heists has generated apprehension in the country regarding insufficient protection at museums and other institutions housing valuable items.