Six Individuals Detained Following 12 Million Euro Armed Raid on Precious Metals Facility in France

A group of six individuals equipped with military-grade weapons employed explosives to breach the security of a gold treatment facility located in Lyon, resulting in minor injuries to five staff members during what appears to be the latest high-profile daytime heist to occur in the country.

The audacious robbery occurred on the afternoon of Thursday, with police forces rapidly detaining the individuals believed responsible and recovering the stolen goods valued at approximately €12 million (£10.5M), as stated by authorities.

Five staff members of the gold refining company received light wounds due to the explosion, and three individuals were taken to a medical facility for assessment, the regional prefecture announced. A total of twenty-eight staff were at the location when the thieves struck.

Those arrested, believed to be seasoned offenders, were detained a brief time later in the nearby town of Vénissieux, a source close to the investigation stated.

A female participant who took part in the raid was also apprehended, a police source indicated.

“Six people who employed explosive devices in a raid against a gold refining facility in Lyon were arrested at the scene,” the nation's interior minister declared on social media, praising officers for their “quick action, authority and management”.

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

The heist took place as authorities on Thursday arrested five more suspects, featuring a main perpetrator, in connection with this month's brazen Louvre museum robbery.

Numerous detectives have been hunting four thieves who used a vehicle with a hydraulic lift and cutting gear to access a gallery on the first floor at the prestigious institution on October 19th, fleeing with precious items estimated to be worth €88 million.

In another notable incident, robbers the previous month broke into the French capital's Natural History Museum, making off with gold samples estimated at exceeding $1M. A 24-year-old Chinese woman was arrested earlier this month in the city of Barcelona in connection with the break-in, prosecutors stated.

The sequence of heists has sparked worry in the nation regarding inadequate security measures at museums and other institutions housing valuable items.