Six Individuals Detained Following €12M Robbery on Gold Processing Laboratory in France

Six armed perpetrators equipped with military-grade weapons detonated charges to break into a gold refining laboratory located in Lyon, France, resulting in minor injuries to five workers during described as the latest high-profile daytime heist to hit France.

The daring raid occurred on the afternoon of Thursday, with officers rapidly detaining the individuals believed responsible and recovering the stolen goods assessed at around €12 million (£10.5 million), officials reported.

Five staff members of the gold refining company were slightly hurt from the blast, and three individuals were transported to hospital for evaluation, officials confirmed. Twenty-eight workers were present on-site when the robbers attacked.

Those arrested, thought to be experienced criminals, were taken into custody shortly after the incident in the nearby town of Vénissieux, according to investigative sources.

A female participant involved in the robbery was likewise arrested, officers confirmed.

“Six suspects who utilized explosives in a raid against a precious metals company in the Lyon area were arrested at the scene,” the nation's interior minister announced via X, commending law enforcement for their “quick action, authority and management”.

High-caliber firearms, handguns and detonation devices were recovered as well.

The heist took place as authorities on the same day detained five further people, featuring a main perpetrator, in regarding this month's brazen Louvre museum robbery.

Dozens of investigators have been hunting 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, making off with ornaments assessed at around €88M.

In a different significant robbery, robbers the previous month entered illegally the Natural History Museum in Paris, taking gold specimens worth over $1 million. A 24-year-old Chinese woman was taken into custody recently in the city of Barcelona in regarding the theft, officials confirmed.

The string of thefts has sparked worry in France regarding inadequate security measures at museums and other institutions containing precious artifacts.