Six Arrested Following €12M Armed Raid on Precious Metals Facility in France

A team of six suspects carrying high-powered firearms used explosive devices to break into a precious metals processing plant located in Lyon, France, causing light wounds to five employees during what is being called the latest high-profile daylight theft to occur in France.

The daring raid took place on Thursday late morning, with police forces quickly arresting the suspected perpetrators and securing the stolen items assessed at around €12 million (£10.5 million), according to officials.

Five employees of the gold refining company received light wounds due to the explosion, and three employees required hospital checks for examination, the regional prefecture announced. A total of twenty-eight staff were present on-site when the thieves struck.

Those arrested, thought to be experienced criminals, were arrested a brief time later in the adjacent municipality of Vénissieux, France, authorities revealed.

A woman involved who participated in the raid was taken into custody as well, according to law enforcement.

“Six people who employed explosive devices in an attack on a precious metals company in the Lyon area were arrested at the scene,” the nation's interior minister declared on social media, commending law enforcement for their “decisiveness, speed and control”.

High-caliber firearms, handguns and detonation devices were likewise seized.

The heist took place as authorities on the same day apprehended five additional individuals, including a primary suspect, in regarding the bold Louvre museum robbery.

Many investigative personnel have been hunting four thieves who utilized a lorry with a hydraulic lift and cutting equipment to breach a first-floor gallery at the museum on 19 October, making off with jewelry valued at approximately €88 million.

In another notable incident, robbers the previous month forced their way into the French capital's Natural History Museum, stealing gold samples estimated at exceeding $1M. A 24-year-old Chinese woman was apprehended in the current month in the city of Barcelona in regarding the theft, prosecutors stated.

This series of robberies has generated apprehension in the country regarding lax security at museums and various establishments holding high-value objects.