Six Suspects Apprehended Following €12 Million Heist on Gold Processing Laboratory in France

A team of six suspects equipped with high-powered firearms used explosive devices to force entry into a gold refining laboratory located in Lyon, causing light wounds to five staff members during what appears to be the latest high-profile broad daylight robbery to affect the nation.

The bold operation was carried out on Thursday late morning, with police forces quickly arresting the individuals believed responsible and recovering the stolen goods estimated to be worth €12M (£10.5 million), as stated by authorities.

Five employees of the gold refining company received light wounds from the blast, and three of them were transported to hospital for examination, officials confirmed. Twenty-eight workers were at the location when the perpetrators raided.

The individuals, considered career criminals, were detained soon afterwards in the adjacent municipality of Vénissieux, France, according to investigative sources.

A female participant who took part in the raid was taken into custody as well, a police source indicated.

“Six suspects who employed explosive devices in an assault targeting a metals processing plant in Lyon, France were caught in the act,” the French interior minister declared on social media, lauding police for their “firmness, rapid response and command”.

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

The raid happened as French police on that Thursday arrested five more suspects, among them a key figure, in relation to the bold theft at the Louvre.

Numerous detectives have been searching for four robbers who used a vehicle equipped with a moving lift and cutting equipment to break into an upper-level exhibition space at the renowned museum on October 19th, making off with ornaments assessed at around €88 million.

In a separate high-profile case, thieves last month forced their way into the Natural History Museum in Paris, making off with gold samples valued at more than one million dollars. A young Chinese female was arrested earlier this month in the city of Barcelona in regarding the theft, according to legal authorities.

This series of robberies has raised concerns in France regarding lax security at cultural venues and other facilities housing valuable items.