Six Arrested After €12M Robbery on Gold Processing Laboratory in France

Six armed perpetrators using military-grade weapons detonated charges to force entry into a precious metals processing plant located in Lyon, slightly injuring five employees during described as the latest high-profile broad daylight robbery to occur in the nation.

The audacious robbery occurred on the afternoon of Thursday, with officers swiftly apprehending the individuals believed responsible and recovering the stolen goods assessed at around 12 million euros (£10.5M), officials reported.

Five workers of the gold refining company received light wounds from the blast, and three individuals were transported to hospital for examination, officials confirmed. Twenty-eight employees were inside the facility when the thieves struck.

Those arrested, considered career criminals, were arrested shortly after the incident in the adjacent municipality of Vénissieux, France, authorities revealed.

A female participant who took part in the robbery was taken into custody as well, according to law enforcement.

“Six individuals who employed explosive devices in an assault targeting a gold refining facility in Lyon 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 likewise seized.

The robbery occurred as law enforcement in France on the same day apprehended five additional individuals, among them a key figure, in regarding this month's brazen theft at the Louvre.

Numerous detectives have been searching for four robbers who employed a truck with a hydraulic lift and cutting tools to breach a first-floor gallery at the prestigious institution on October 19th, fleeing with jewelry valued at approximately €88 million.

In a different significant robbery, robbers the previous month entered illegally the Natural History Museum in Paris, making off with gold samples worth over $1 million. A 24-year-old Chinese woman was taken into custody recently in the city of Barcelona in connection with the break-in, prosecutors stated.

This series of robberies has generated apprehension in the country regarding inadequate security measures at museums and various establishments containing precious artifacts.