Six Suspects Apprehended After €12M Heist on Gold Processing Laboratory in the French Republic

A team of six suspects using high-powered firearms employed explosives to breach the security of a precious metals processing plant located in Lyon, France, resulting in minor injuries to five workers during what appears to be the most recent prominent daytime heist to affect the nation.

The daring raid was carried out on Thursday afternoon, with officers quickly arresting the individuals believed responsible and retrieving the loot estimated to be worth 12 million euros (£10.5M), as stated by authorities.

Five staff members of the precious metals facility were slightly hurt from the blast, and three individuals were transported to hospital for examination, the regional prefecture announced. Twenty-eight employees were at the location when the perpetrators raided.

The suspects, considered seasoned offenders, were taken into custody shortly after the incident in the adjacent municipality of Vénissieux, France, authorities revealed.

A woman involved who participated in the raid was also apprehended, according to law enforcement.

“Six people who utilized explosives in an assault targeting a gold refining facility in Lyon, France were arrested at the scene,” the nation's interior minister announced via X, praising officers for their “decisiveness, speed and control”.

High-caliber firearms, handguns and detonation devices were recovered as well.

The heist took place as authorities on the same day detained five further people, featuring a main perpetrator, in relation to the recent audacious Louvre museum robbery.

Many investigative personnel have been pursuing four robbers who used a vehicle with a hydraulic lift and cutting gear to break into an upper-level exhibition space at the museum on 19 October, making off with precious items estimated to be worth €88M.

In a different significant robbery, burglars recently forced their way into the Natural History Museum in Paris, making off with gold samples worth over $1 million. A woman from China, aged 24 was taken into custody recently in the city of Barcelona in connection with the break-in, officials confirmed.

The sequence of heists has sparked worry in the country regarding inadequate security measures at museums and various establishments containing precious artifacts.