Six Arrested After €12M Heist on Gold Processing Laboratory in the French Republic

A group of six individuals equipped with high-powered firearms used explosive devices to force entry into a precious metals processing plant located in the city of Lyon, slightly injuring five employees during described as the newest significant daytime heist to hit the nation.

The bold operation occurred on Thursday afternoon, with officers rapidly detaining the individuals believed responsible and recovering the stolen goods assessed at around €12M (£10.5M), according to officials.

Five staff members of the gold refining company sustained minor injuries from the blast, and three of them required hospital checks for evaluation, according to regional authorities. Twenty-eight employees were at the location when the robbers attacked.

The individuals, believed to be career criminals, were taken into custody shortly after the incident in the adjacent municipality of Vénissieux, France, authorities revealed.

A woman involved who took part in the raid was taken into custody as well, officers confirmed.

“Six suspects who employed explosive devices in an assault targeting a metals processing plant in Lyon, France were arrested at the scene,” France's security official declared on social media, praising officers for their “firmness, rapid response and command”.

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

The heist took place as law enforcement in France on the same day detained five further people, among them a key figure, in regarding the bold raid on the Louvre museum.

Numerous detectives have been hunting four thieves who used a vehicle featuring an elevating platform and cutting gear to access a gallery on the first floor at the museum on 19 October, making off with ornaments assessed at around €88 million.

In a separate high-profile case, thieves last month broke into the Natural History Museum in Paris, stealing gold samples worth over $1 million. A woman from China, aged 24 was apprehended in the current month in Barcelona in relation to the burglary, officials confirmed.

The string of thefts has raised concerns in the country regarding insufficient protection at museums and other institutions housing valuable items.