Six Arrested Following €12M Heist on Gold Processing Laboratory in France

Six armed perpetrators equipped with assault rifles and handguns used explosive devices to breach the security of a precious metals processing plant located in Lyon, France, causing light wounds to five staff members during described as the most recent prominent daylight theft to occur in the country.

The bold operation was carried out on Thursday afternoon, with officers quickly arresting the suspected perpetrators and retrieving the loot estimated to be worth €12 million (£10.5 million), according to officials.

Five staff members of the gold refining company sustained minor injuries from the blast, and three of them were transported to hospital for evaluation, officials confirmed. Twenty-eight employees were at the location when the perpetrators raided.

The individuals, believed to be career criminals, were arrested shortly after the incident in the neighboring community of the town of Vénissieux, a source close to the investigation stated.

A female participant who took part in the raid was likewise arrested, officers confirmed.

“Six suspects who utilized explosives in a raid against a metals processing plant in Lyon, France were apprehended red-handed,” the French 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 robbery occurred as authorities on that Thursday arrested five more suspects, among them a key figure, in regarding the bold theft at the Louvre.

Many investigative personnel have been searching for four thieves who employed a truck equipped with a moving lift and cutting gear to access a gallery on the first floor at the renowned museum on October 19th, fleeing with jewelry valued at approximately €88 million.

In a different significant robbery, burglars recently forced their way into the Parisian museum of natural history, making off with gold samples estimated at exceeding $1M. A young Chinese female was arrested earlier this month in Barcelona in regarding the theft, officials confirmed.

This series of robberies has generated apprehension in the country regarding insufficient protection at cultural venues and other facilities holding high-value objects.