Six Individuals Detained After €12 Million Heist on Gold Processing Laboratory in the French Republic

A group of six individuals carrying high-powered firearms used explosive devices to break into a gold refining laboratory located in Lyon, France, slightly injuring five workers during what is being called the most recent prominent daylight theft to affect the country.

The daring raid was carried out on Thursday afternoon, with law enforcement authorities swiftly apprehending the alleged criminals and retrieving the loot assessed at around €12 million (10.5 million pounds), officials reported.

Five workers of the precious metals facility received light wounds due to the explosion, and three employees were taken to a medical facility for examination, the regional prefecture announced. Twenty-eight employees were inside the facility when the thieves struck.

The individuals, believed to be experienced criminals, were detained soon afterwards in the neighboring community of the town of Vénissieux, a source close to the investigation stated.

A woman involved who participated in the raid was likewise arrested, a police source indicated.

“Six suspects who used detonations in an attack on a gold refining facility in the Lyon area were caught in the act,” the nation's interior minister stated online, praising officers for their “firmness, rapid response and command”.

Assault rifles, handguns and explosives were recovered as well.

The raid happened as authorities on the same day detained five further people, featuring a main perpetrator, in connection with the bold raid on the Louvre museum.

Dozens of investigators have been pursuing four perpetrators who used a vehicle featuring an elevating platform and cutting gear to breach a first-floor gallery at the prestigious institution on October 19th, fleeing with jewelry valued at approximately €88M.

In a different significant robbery, robbers the previous month forced their way into the Parisian museum of natural history, taking gold specimens valued at more than one million dollars. A young Chinese female was arrested earlier this month in the city of Barcelona in connection with the break-in, prosecutors stated.

This series of robberies has sparked worry in the country regarding inadequate security measures at cultural venues and other facilities holding high-value objects.