Six Individuals Detained After €12 Million Heist on Precious Metals Facility in the French Republic

Six armed perpetrators equipped with high-powered firearms used explosive devices to breach the security of a precious metals processing plant located in the city of Lyon, causing light wounds to five staff members during what appears to be the newest significant daytime heist to affect France.

The bold operation was carried out on Thursday afternoon, with law enforcement authorities quickly arresting the individuals believed responsible and recovering the stolen goods valued at approximately €12 million (£10.5 million), as stated by authorities.

Five workers of Laboratoires Pourquery sustained minor injuries due to the explosion, and three individuals required hospital checks for evaluation, the regional prefecture announced. Twenty-eight workers were at the location when the thieves struck.

The individuals, considered seasoned offenders, were arrested shortly after the incident in the neighboring community of Vénissieux, according to investigative sources.

A female accomplice who participated in the robbery was likewise arrested, a police source indicated.

“Six suspects who used detonations in an assault targeting a gold refining facility in Lyon, France were apprehended red-handed,” France's security official announced via X, lauding police for their “quick action, authority and management”.

Assault rifles, handguns and explosives were likewise seized.

The raid happened as French police on Thursday detained five further people, including a primary suspect, in relation to the recent audacious theft at the Louvre.

Many investigative personnel have been hunting four perpetrators who utilized a lorry with a hydraulic lift and cutting equipment to access a gallery on the first floor at the renowned museum on 19 October, making off with precious items estimated to be worth €88M.

In a different significant robbery, burglars recently broke into the Parisian museum of natural history, stealing gold samples estimated at exceeding $1M. A 24-year-old Chinese woman was arrested earlier this month in Barcelona, Spain in connection with the break-in, officials confirmed.

The string of thefts has generated apprehension in the country regarding lax security at museums and other institutions holding high-value objects.