Six Arrested Following 12 Million Euro Armed Raid on Gold Refining Lab in the French Republic

A team of six suspects using assault rifles and handguns employed explosives to break into a precious metals processing plant located in Lyon, France, slightly injuring five staff members during what appears to be the latest high-profile daytime heist to affect the country.

The bold operation occurred on the afternoon of Thursday, with officers rapidly detaining the alleged criminals and retrieving the loot assessed at around 12 million euros (£10.5M), as stated by authorities.

Five workers of the gold refining company sustained minor injuries due to the explosion, and three employees were transported to hospital for evaluation, officials confirmed. Twenty-eight workers were at the location when the thieves struck.

The suspects, thought to be seasoned offenders, were arrested a brief time later in the adjacent municipality of Vénissieux, authorities revealed.

A woman involved involved in the raid was likewise arrested, according to law enforcement.

“Six suspects who employed explosive devices in an assault targeting a precious metals company in Lyon, France were apprehended red-handed,” the nation's interior minister declared on social media, praising officers for their “firmness, rapid response and command”.

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

The heist took place as law enforcement in France on the same day detained five further people, featuring a main perpetrator, in regarding the bold raid on the Louvre museum.

Dozens of investigators have been searching for four perpetrators who used a vehicle featuring an elevating platform and cutting tools to break into an upper-level exhibition space at the museum on October 19th, fleeing with precious items estimated to be worth €88 million.

In a different significant robbery, robbers the previous month forced their way into the Parisian museum of natural history, taking gold specimens valued at more than one million dollars. A young Chinese female was arrested earlier this month in the city of Barcelona in connection with the break-in, prosecutors stated.

The sequence of heists has raised concerns in France regarding lax security at museums and various establishments housing valuable items.