Six Arrested Following €12 Million Robbery on Precious Metals Facility in France

A group of six individuals equipped with military-grade weapons detonated charges to breach the security of a gold treatment facility located in Lyon, causing light wounds to five workers during what is being called the most recent prominent broad daylight robbery to affect France.

The daring raid took place on Thursday late morning, with law enforcement authorities rapidly detaining the suspected perpetrators and recovering the stolen goods valued at approximately €12 million (10.5 million pounds), according to officials.

Five employees of the gold refining company received light wounds as a result of the detonation, and three of them were taken to a medical facility for assessment, according to regional authorities. Twenty-eight employees were present on-site when the robbers attacked.

Those arrested, considered experienced criminals, were detained soon afterwards in the neighboring community of Vénissieux, authorities revealed.

A female participant involved in the heist was likewise arrested, according to law enforcement.

“Six people who employed explosive devices in a raid against a metals processing plant in Lyon were arrested at the scene,” the nation's interior minister announced via X, commending law enforcement for their “quick action, authority and management”.

Assault rifles, handguns and explosives were recovered as well.

The heist took place as French police on Thursday detained five further people, among them a key figure, in regarding the recent audacious theft at the Louvre.

Many investigative personnel have been pursuing four perpetrators who employed a truck equipped with a moving lift and cutting tools to breach a first-floor gallery at the renowned museum on the nineteenth of October, escaping with precious items estimated to be worth 88 million euros.

In another notable incident, thieves last month forced their way into the Natural History Museum in Paris, making off with gold samples valued at more than one million dollars. A young Chinese female was taken into custody recently in Barcelona, Spain in connection with the break-in, according to legal authorities.

The sequence of heists has raised concerns in France regarding insufficient protection at museums and various establishments housing valuable items.