Six Individuals Detained Following 12 Million Euro Armed Raid on Precious Metals Facility in France

A group of six individuals equipped with military-grade weapons employed explosives to force entry into a precious metals processing plant located in Lyon, causing light wounds to five staff members during described as the most recent prominent daytime heist to affect the country.

The audacious robbery occurred on Thursday afternoon, with officers quickly arresting the individuals believed responsible and retrieving the loot valued at approximately €12M (£10.5 million), officials reported.

Five staff members of Laboratoires Pourquery received light wounds due to the explosion, and three individuals required hospital checks for evaluation, according to regional authorities. Twenty-eight employees were inside the facility when the robbers attacked.

Those arrested, considered seasoned offenders, were detained soon afterwards in the nearby town of Vénissieux, France, according to investigative sources.

A female participant who took part in the raid was also apprehended, according to law enforcement.

“Six people who utilized explosives in a raid against a gold refining facility in Lyon, France were apprehended red-handed,” France's security official announced via X, praising officers for their “firmness, rapid response and command”.

Military-style weapons, pistols and explosive materials were also confiscated.

The heist took place as authorities on Thursday apprehended five additional individuals, among them a key figure, in relation to this month's brazen theft at the Louvre.

Numerous detectives have been pursuing four perpetrators who employed a truck equipped with a moving lift and cutting tools to break into an upper-level exhibition space at the museum on 19 October, fleeing with precious items estimated to be worth 88 million euros.

In a different significant robbery, burglars recently forced their way into the Natural History Museum in Paris, taking gold specimens worth over $1 million. A young Chinese female was taken into custody recently in the city of Barcelona in regarding the theft, officials confirmed.

The string of thefts has generated apprehension in France regarding inadequate security measures at museums and various establishments containing precious artifacts.