Six Suspects Apprehended Following €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, slightly injuring five workers during what is being called the latest high-profile daytime heist to affect the nation.

The bold operation occurred on the afternoon of Thursday, with officers swiftly apprehending the alleged criminals and recovering the stolen goods estimated to be worth €12M (£10.5M), as stated by authorities.

Five employees of the gold refining company received light wounds as a result of the detonation, and three employees required hospital checks for assessment, according to regional authorities. Twenty-eight employees were inside the facility when the perpetrators raided.

The individuals, considered experienced criminals, were arrested shortly after the incident in the neighboring community of Vénissieux, a source close to the investigation stated.

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

“Six individuals who employed explosive devices in a raid against a precious metals company in Lyon, France were caught in the act,” the nation's interior minister announced via X, lauding police for their “decisiveness, speed and control”.

Assault rifles, handguns and explosives were likewise seized.

The raid happened as law enforcement in France on that Thursday detained five further people, featuring a main perpetrator, in regarding this month's brazen Louvre museum robbery.

Numerous detectives have been hunting four perpetrators who utilized a lorry featuring an elevating platform and cutting tools to breach a first-floor gallery at the museum on October 19th, making off with ornaments assessed at around €88M.

In another notable incident, thieves last 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 apprehended in the current month in the city of Barcelona in relation to the burglary, according to legal authorities.

The string of thefts has generated apprehension in France regarding insufficient protection at museums and various establishments holding high-value objects.