Six Individuals Detained After €12 Million Heist on Gold Refining Lab in France

A group of six individuals using assault rifles and handguns used explosive devices to breach the security of a gold refining laboratory located in the city of Lyon, resulting in minor injuries to five workers during described as the newest significant daylight theft to affect the country.

The bold operation took place on the afternoon of Thursday, with officers swiftly apprehending the individuals believed responsible and recovering the stolen goods valued at approximately €12M (10.5 million pounds), according to officials.

Five staff members of the precious metals facility sustained minor injuries due to the explosion, and three employees were transported to hospital for evaluation, officials confirmed. Twenty-eight workers were inside the facility when the perpetrators raided.

The suspects, believed to be experienced criminals, were taken into custody soon afterwards in the neighboring community of Vénissieux, France, according to investigative sources.

A woman involved who took part in the raid was also apprehended, a police source indicated.

“Six people who employed explosive devices in an assault targeting a precious metals company in Lyon, France were arrested at the scene,” France's security official declared on social media, praising officers for their “decisiveness, speed and control”.

High-caliber firearms, handguns and detonation devices were likewise seized.

The robbery occurred as law enforcement in France on that Thursday apprehended five additional individuals, among them a key figure, in connection with the recent audacious theft at the Louvre.

Numerous detectives have been searching for four robbers who utilized a lorry with a hydraulic lift and cutting equipment to breach a first-floor gallery at the renowned museum on the nineteenth of October, fleeing with jewelry valued at approximately €88M.

In another notable incident, thieves last month entered illegally the Parisian museum of natural history, making off with gold samples valued at more than one million dollars. A 24-year-old Chinese woman was arrested earlier this month in the city of Barcelona in connection with the break-in, according to legal authorities.

The string of thefts has sparked worry in the country regarding insufficient protection at museums and various establishments holding high-value objects.