Six Individuals Detained Following 12 Million Euro Robbery on Gold Refining Lab in the French Republic

A team of six suspects equipped with military-grade weapons employed explosives to break into a precious metals processing plant located in the city of Lyon, resulting in minor injuries to five staff members during what appears to be the newest significant daylight theft to hit France.

The daring raid occurred on the afternoon of Thursday, with officers quickly arresting the alleged criminals and recovering the stolen goods assessed at around €12M (£10.5M), as stated by authorities.

Five workers of Laboratoires Pourquery sustained minor injuries due to the explosion, and three individuals were transported to hospital for assessment, the regional prefecture announced. Twenty-eight employees were at the location when the perpetrators raided.

Those arrested, thought to be career criminals, were taken into custody shortly after the incident in the nearby town of Vénissieux, a source close to the investigation stated.

A woman involved involved in the heist was also apprehended, a police source indicated.

“Six suspects who employed explosive devices in an assault targeting a precious metals company in the Lyon area were arrested at the scene,” France's security official stated online, lauding police for their “decisiveness, speed and control”.

High-caliber firearms, handguns and detonation devices were also confiscated.

The heist took place as law enforcement in France on that Thursday detained five further people, featuring a main perpetrator, in relation to the recent audacious Louvre museum robbery.

Dozens of investigators have been pursuing four robbers who employed a truck with a hydraulic lift and cutting equipment to access a gallery on the first floor at the museum on the nineteenth of October, making off with ornaments assessed at around 88 million euros.

In another notable incident, thieves last month broke into the Parisian museum of natural history, taking gold specimens valued at more than one million dollars. A woman from China, aged 24 was taken into custody recently in Barcelona in relation to the burglary, officials confirmed.

The sequence of heists has generated apprehension in France regarding lax security at cultural venues and other facilities holding high-value objects.