Six Individuals Detained Following €12 Million Armed Raid on Precious Metals Facility in the French Republic

A group of six individuals using high-powered firearms used explosive devices to break into a precious metals processing plant located in Lyon, France, resulting in minor injuries to five staff members during what appears to be the most recent prominent daylight theft to hit the nation.

The daring raid took place on the afternoon of Thursday, with police forces quickly arresting the individuals believed responsible and recovering the stolen goods valued at approximately €12M (10.5 million pounds), officials reported.

Five employees of Laboratoires Pourquery sustained minor injuries from the blast, and three individuals required hospital checks for examination, according to regional authorities. Twenty-eight workers were at the location when the robbers attacked.

Those arrested, considered seasoned offenders, were arrested soon afterwards in the adjacent municipality of the town of Vénissieux, according to investigative sources.

A female participant who took part in the heist was likewise arrested, according to law enforcement.

“Six suspects who used detonations in a raid against a precious metals company in the Lyon area were apprehended red-handed,” the French interior minister stated online, commending law enforcement for their “firmness, rapid response and command”.

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

The raid happened as authorities on that Thursday apprehended five additional individuals, including a primary suspect, in relation to this month's brazen raid on the Louvre museum.

Dozens of investigators have been searching for four robbers who employed a truck equipped with a moving lift and cutting equipment to breach a first-floor gallery at the renowned museum on 19 October, fleeing with jewelry valued at approximately €88M.

In another notable incident, robbers the previous month entered illegally the Parisian museum of natural history, stealing gold samples valued at more than one million dollars. A young Chinese female was arrested earlier this month in Barcelona, Spain in regarding the theft, prosecutors stated.

The string of thefts has generated apprehension in the country regarding insufficient protection at museums and various establishments housing valuable items.