Six Arrested Following €12M Heist on Precious Metals Facility in the French Republic

A team of six suspects carrying assault rifles and handguns detonated charges to force entry into a precious metals processing plant located in Lyon, France, slightly injuring five staff members during described as the latest high-profile broad daylight robbery to hit the nation.

The bold operation took place on the afternoon of Thursday, with police forces quickly arresting the suspected perpetrators and recovering the stolen goods assessed at around 12 million euros (10.5 million pounds), officials reported.

Five staff members of the precious metals facility were slightly hurt from the blast, and three of them were taken to a medical facility for evaluation, according to regional authorities. Twenty-eight workers were present on-site when the perpetrators raided.

The suspects, thought to be career criminals, were detained shortly after the incident in the adjacent municipality of Vénissieux, France, authorities revealed.

A female participant who participated in the raid was taken into custody as well, officers confirmed.

“Six suspects who utilized explosives in an attack on a gold refining facility in Lyon, France were arrested at the scene,” the French interior minister announced via X, commending law enforcement for their “decisiveness, speed and control”.

Assault rifles, handguns and explosives were recovered as well.

The heist took place as law enforcement in France on the same day arrested five more suspects, featuring a main perpetrator, in relation to the recent audacious theft at the Louvre.

Numerous detectives have been searching for four robbers who used a vehicle featuring an elevating platform and cutting tools to breach a first-floor gallery at the museum on the nineteenth of October, making off with jewelry valued at approximately €88M.

In another notable incident, thieves last month broke into the French capital's Natural History Museum, taking gold specimens estimated at exceeding $1M. A woman from China, aged 24 was apprehended in the current month in the city of Barcelona in relation to the burglary, officials confirmed.

This series of robberies has generated apprehension in France regarding lax security at cultural venues and other facilities containing precious artifacts.