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

A team of six suspects carrying assault rifles and handguns employed explosives to breach the security of a gold refining laboratory located in the city of Lyon, slightly injuring five workers during what is being called the newest significant broad daylight robbery to hit the country.

The daring raid took place on Thursday afternoon, with law enforcement authorities rapidly detaining the suspected perpetrators and retrieving the loot estimated to be worth €12M (10.5 million pounds), according to officials.

Five workers of the gold refining company were slightly hurt as a result of the detonation, and three of them were transported to hospital for evaluation, the regional prefecture announced. A total of twenty-eight staff were present on-site when the thieves struck.

The suspects, thought to be career criminals, were arrested shortly after the incident in the nearby town of Vénissieux, France, a source close to the investigation stated.

A female accomplice who took part in the raid was also apprehended, a police source indicated.

“Six people who employed explosive devices in a raid against a gold refining facility in Lyon, France were arrested at the scene,” the French interior minister stated online, commending law enforcement for their “quick action, authority and management”.

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

The heist took place as authorities on Thursday detained five further people, featuring a main perpetrator, in relation to the bold Louvre museum robbery.

Many investigative personnel have been hunting four robbers who used a vehicle featuring an elevating platform and cutting equipment to access a gallery on the first floor at the prestigious institution on October 19th, fleeing with jewelry valued at approximately 88 million euros.

In a different significant robbery, burglars recently broke into the French capital's Natural History Museum, making off with gold samples valued at more than one million dollars. A young Chinese female was taken into custody recently in the city of Barcelona in connection with the break-in, according to legal authorities.

The string of thefts has sparked worry in France regarding inadequate security measures at museums and other institutions housing valuable items.