Six Individuals Detained After €12 Million Armed Raid on Gold Refining Lab in France

A group of six individuals using assault rifles and handguns employed explosives to breach the security of a gold refining laboratory located in Lyon, France, slightly injuring five staff members during what is being called the latest high-profile broad daylight robbery to occur in France.

The daring raid occurred on Thursday afternoon, with police forces rapidly detaining the suspected perpetrators and recovering the stolen goods assessed at around €12M (10.5 million pounds), officials reported.

Five staff members of the precious metals facility were slightly hurt from the blast, and three of them were transported to hospital for examination, the regional prefecture announced. Twenty-eight workers were inside the facility when the thieves struck.

The suspects, considered experienced criminals, were detained shortly after the incident in the nearby town of Vénissieux, France, a source close to the investigation stated.

A woman involved involved in the heist was likewise arrested, a police source indicated.

“Six suspects who utilized explosives in a raid against a precious metals company in Lyon were caught in the act,” the French interior minister declared on social media, lauding police for their “firmness, rapid response and command”.

Assault rifles, handguns and explosives were recovered as well.

The raid happened as authorities on the same day apprehended five additional individuals, including a primary suspect, in relation to this month's brazen Louvre museum robbery.

Many investigative personnel have been hunting four perpetrators who employed a truck with a hydraulic lift and cutting gear to access a gallery on the first floor at the renowned museum on 19 October, making off with precious items estimated to be worth 88 million euros.

In another notable incident, robbers the previous month broke into the French capital's Natural History Museum, making off with gold samples valued at more than one million dollars. A woman from China, aged 24 was taken into custody recently in Barcelona in connection with the break-in, prosecutors stated.

The sequence of heists has raised concerns in the nation regarding inadequate security measures at museums and various establishments housing valuable items.