Six Arrested Following €12M Armed Raid on Gold Processing Laboratory in France

A team of six suspects equipped with assault rifles and handguns used explosive devices to force entry into a gold treatment facility located in Lyon, slightly injuring five workers during what appears to be the newest significant daylight theft to occur in the nation.

The audacious robbery took place on Thursday afternoon, with law enforcement authorities swiftly apprehending the alleged criminals and securing the stolen items assessed at around €12M (£10.5M), according to officials.

Five workers of the precious metals facility sustained minor injuries due to the explosion, and three individuals were taken to a medical facility for examination, the regional prefecture announced. Twenty-eight workers were present on-site when the thieves struck.

The individuals, thought to be career criminals, were taken into custody soon afterwards in the adjacent municipality of the town of Vénissieux, authorities revealed.

A woman involved who took part in the robbery was likewise arrested, according to law enforcement.

“Six suspects who utilized explosives in a raid against a metals processing plant in the Lyon area were apprehended red-handed,” the nation's interior minister declared on social media, lauding police for their “decisiveness, speed and control”.

Assault rifles, handguns and explosives were recovered as well.

The heist took place as French police on Thursday arrested five more suspects, including a primary suspect, in relation to the recent audacious raid on the Louvre museum.

Numerous detectives have been searching for four perpetrators who utilized a lorry with a hydraulic lift and cutting tools to break into an upper-level exhibition space at the museum on October 19th, fleeing with precious items estimated to be worth €88 million.

In another notable incident, thieves last month broke into the Parisian museum of natural history, taking gold specimens estimated at exceeding $1M. A woman from China, aged 24 was arrested earlier this month in Barcelona in regarding the theft, according to legal authorities.

The string of thefts has generated apprehension in the country regarding lax security at museums and various establishments containing precious artifacts.