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

Six armed perpetrators carrying high-powered firearms detonated charges to force entry into a precious metals processing plant located in the city of Lyon, causing light wounds to five staff members during described as the newest significant broad daylight robbery to hit France.

The daring raid took place on the afternoon of Thursday, with officers rapidly detaining the individuals believed responsible and securing the stolen items valued at approximately €12M (10.5 million pounds), officials reported.

Five employees of Laboratoires Pourquery received light wounds due to the explosion, and three employees were taken to a medical facility for examination, officials confirmed. Twenty-eight workers were at the location when the robbers attacked.

The suspects, thought to be experienced criminals, were detained shortly after the incident in the adjacent municipality of Vénissieux, France, authorities revealed.

A female participant involved in the raid was also apprehended, officers confirmed.

“Six individuals who utilized explosives in an attack on a metals processing plant in the Lyon area were apprehended red-handed,” the nation's interior minister announced via X, commending law enforcement for their “decisiveness, speed and control”.

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

The raid happened as authorities on Thursday detained five further people, including a primary suspect, in regarding this month's brazen Louvre museum robbery.

Many investigative personnel have been searching for four perpetrators who employed a truck equipped with a moving lift and cutting gear to access a gallery on the first floor at the renowned museum on 19 October, escaping with jewelry valued at approximately €88 million.

In a different significant robbery, burglars recently forced their way into the Parisian museum of natural history, making off with gold samples worth over $1 million. A 24-year-old Chinese woman was apprehended in the current month in Barcelona, Spain in relation to the burglary, according to legal authorities.

The string of thefts has sparked worry in the nation regarding inadequate security measures at cultural venues and other facilities housing valuable items.