Six Suspects Apprehended After €12 Million Armed Raid on Precious Metals Facility in France

A team of six suspects carrying high-powered firearms employed explosives to break into a precious metals processing plant located in Lyon, France, resulting in minor injuries to five employees during described as the newest significant daytime heist to occur in the nation.

The daring raid took place on Thursday late morning, with police forces quickly arresting the alleged criminals and retrieving the loot valued at approximately €12M (£10.5 million), according to officials.

Five employees of the precious metals facility received light wounds from the blast, and three of them required hospital checks for examination, the regional prefecture announced. Twenty-eight workers were present on-site when the perpetrators raided.

Those arrested, considered career criminals, were detained a brief time later in the adjacent municipality of Vénissieux, France, authorities revealed.

A female participant who participated in the raid was taken into custody as well, according to law enforcement.

“Six suspects who used detonations in an assault targeting a gold refining facility in the Lyon area were arrested at the scene,” the French interior minister announced via X, lauding police for their “decisiveness, speed and control”.

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

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

Many investigative personnel have been hunting four perpetrators who utilized a lorry with a hydraulic lift and cutting equipment 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 a separate high-profile case, burglars recently broke into the Natural History Museum in Paris, making off with gold samples valued at more than one million dollars. A 24-year-old Chinese woman was arrested earlier this month in Barcelona, Spain in connection with the break-in, according to legal authorities.

This series of robberies has sparked worry in the nation regarding inadequate security measures at cultural venues and other facilities holding high-value objects.