Six Arrested After €12 Million Robbery on Gold Refining Lab in France

A group of six individuals equipped with high-powered firearms employed explosives to break into a gold treatment facility located in the city of Lyon, causing light wounds to five workers during what is being called the most recent prominent broad daylight robbery to affect the country.

The daring raid occurred on Thursday afternoon, with law enforcement authorities rapidly detaining the individuals believed responsible and securing the stolen items valued at approximately €12M (10.5 million pounds), as stated by authorities.

Five staff members of the gold refining company received light wounds from the blast, and three employees were transported to hospital for examination, the regional prefecture announced. Twenty-eight employees were present on-site when the robbers attacked.

The individuals, believed to be career criminals, were detained soon afterwards in the nearby town of Vénissieux, France, a source close to the investigation stated.

A female accomplice who participated in the heist was likewise arrested, officers confirmed.

“Six individuals who employed explosive devices in an assault targeting a metals processing plant in Lyon, France were arrested at the scene,” the nation's interior minister announced via X, commending law enforcement for their “quick action, authority and management”.

Military-style weapons, pistols and explosive materials were recovered as well.

The robbery occurred as authorities on that Thursday detained five further people, including a primary suspect, in relation to this month's brazen Louvre museum robbery.

Numerous detectives have been searching for four robbers who utilized a lorry equipped with a moving lift and cutting gear to access a gallery on the first floor at the renowned museum on 19 October, escaping with jewelry valued at approximately €88 million.

In another notable incident, thieves last month entered illegally the French capital's Natural History Museum, making off with gold samples estimated at exceeding $1M. A woman from China, aged 24 was arrested earlier this month in the city of Barcelona in relation to the burglary, officials confirmed.

The string of thefts has generated apprehension in the nation regarding insufficient protection at museums and various establishments containing precious artifacts.