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

Six armed perpetrators carrying military-grade weapons detonated charges to breach the security of a gold refining laboratory located in Lyon, France, resulting in minor injuries to five workers during what is being called the newest significant broad daylight robbery to affect France.

The bold operation took place on Thursday afternoon, with officers quickly arresting the individuals believed responsible and securing the stolen items assessed at around €12 million (£10.5 million), according to officials.

Five workers of the gold refining company received light wounds due to the explosion, and three of them required hospital checks for assessment, officials confirmed. Twenty-eight workers were at the location when the thieves struck.

The suspects, thought to be experienced criminals, were taken into custody soon afterwards in the adjacent municipality of Vénissieux, France, a source close to the investigation stated.

A woman involved who participated in the raid was taken into custody as well, officers confirmed.

“Six individuals who employed explosive devices in an assault targeting a precious metals company in the Lyon area were arrested at the scene,” the French interior minister stated online, praising officers for their “quick action, authority and management”.

Assault rifles, handguns and explosives were recovered as well.

The raid happened as law enforcement in France on Thursday arrested five more suspects, including a primary suspect, in regarding this month's brazen theft at the Louvre.

Dozens of investigators have been hunting four robbers who used a vehicle with a hydraulic lift and cutting tools to break into an upper-level exhibition space at the renowned museum on the nineteenth of October, escaping with precious items estimated to be worth €88M.

In a separate high-profile case, burglars recently entered illegally the Parisian museum of natural history, stealing gold samples estimated at exceeding $1M. A young Chinese female was arrested earlier this month in Barcelona in relation to the burglary, prosecutors stated.

The string of thefts has raised concerns in the nation regarding insufficient protection at museums and various establishments containing precious artifacts.