Six Arrested Following €12 Million Robbery on Gold Refining Lab in the French Republic

A team of six suspects using military-grade weapons employed explosives to force entry into a precious metals processing plant located in the city of Lyon, resulting in minor injuries to five employees during what is being called the newest significant broad daylight robbery to affect the country.

The daring raid occurred on Thursday afternoon, with officers rapidly detaining the individuals believed responsible and retrieving the loot assessed at around €12 million (10.5 million pounds), officials reported.

Five employees of the precious metals facility sustained minor injuries as a result of the detonation, and three of them were taken to a medical facility for evaluation, according to regional authorities. Twenty-eight employees were at the location when the perpetrators raided.

The suspects, considered career criminals, were arrested soon afterwards in the neighboring community of Vénissieux, according to investigative sources.

A female participant involved in the heist was likewise arrested, according to law enforcement.

“Six individuals who used detonations in an assault targeting a precious metals company in Lyon were arrested at the scene,” the nation's interior minister stated online, lauding police for their “quick action, authority and management”.

Military-style weapons, pistols and explosive materials were also confiscated.

The heist took place as law enforcement in France on Thursday detained five further people, among them a key figure, in connection with this month's brazen theft at the Louvre.

Numerous detectives have been pursuing four perpetrators who used a vehicle equipped with a moving lift and cutting tools to break into an upper-level exhibition space at the prestigious institution on October 19th, fleeing with precious items estimated to be worth €88M.

In another notable incident, robbers the previous month broke into the French capital's Natural History Museum, stealing gold samples estimated at exceeding $1M. A woman from China, aged 24 was arrested earlier this month in Barcelona in relation to the burglary, according to legal authorities.

This series of robberies has raised concerns in France regarding inadequate security measures at museums and other institutions holding high-value objects.