Six Suspects Apprehended Following 12 Million Euro Armed Raid on Gold Refining Lab in France

Six armed perpetrators equipped with military-grade weapons employed explosives to breach the security of a gold treatment facility located in Lyon, France, resulting in minor injuries to five employees during what is being called the latest high-profile broad daylight robbery to hit the nation.

The audacious robbery was carried out on Thursday afternoon, with officers quickly arresting the suspected perpetrators and securing the stolen items assessed at around 12 million euros (£10.5 million), as stated by authorities.

Five employees of the gold refining company received light wounds from the blast, and three employees required hospital checks for examination, the regional prefecture announced. Twenty-eight employees were at the location when the robbers attacked.

Those arrested, believed to be seasoned offenders, were arrested soon afterwards in the nearby town of Vénissieux, authorities revealed.

A female accomplice who took part in the raid was likewise arrested, a police source indicated.

“Six individuals who used detonations in an attack on a precious metals company in Lyon were arrested at the scene,” the nation's interior minister declared on social media, commending law enforcement for their “firmness, rapid response and command”.

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

The robbery occurred as authorities on that Thursday detained five further people, among them a key figure, in relation to this month's brazen Louvre museum robbery.

Numerous detectives have been hunting four thieves who employed a truck with a hydraulic lift and cutting gear to breach a first-floor gallery at the renowned museum on 19 October, fleeing with precious items estimated to be worth €88M.

In a separate high-profile case, burglars recently broke into the French capital's Natural History Museum, taking gold specimens valued at more than one million dollars. A woman from China, aged 24 was taken into custody recently in Barcelona in regarding the theft, prosecutors stated.

The sequence of heists has raised concerns in the nation regarding insufficient protection at museums and other institutions holding high-value objects.