Six Arrested After 12 Million Euro Heist on Gold Processing Laboratory in the French Republic
A group of six individuals using assault rifles and handguns detonated charges to break into a gold refining laboratory located in Lyon, France, resulting in minor injuries to five staff members during described as the most recent prominent daylight theft to affect the country.
The bold operation took place on Thursday late morning, with law enforcement authorities swiftly apprehending the suspected perpetrators and securing the stolen items valued at approximately €12 million (£10.5M), as stated by authorities.
Five employees of the precious metals facility received light wounds due to the explosion, and three of them were taken to a medical facility for assessment, according to regional authorities. Twenty-eight workers were at the location when the perpetrators raided.
The individuals, thought to be career criminals, were detained soon afterwards in the nearby town of Vénissieux, France, according to investigative sources.
A woman involved who took part in the raid was taken into custody as well, officers confirmed.
“Six people who employed explosive devices in an attack on a gold refining facility in Lyon, France were apprehended red-handed,” the French interior minister stated online, praising officers for their “firmness, rapid response and command”.
High-caliber firearms, handguns and detonation devices were also confiscated.
The raid happened as authorities on Thursday apprehended five additional individuals, including a primary suspect, in relation to the recent audacious Louvre museum robbery.
Numerous detectives have been pursuing four thieves who utilized a lorry featuring an elevating platform and cutting equipment to breach a first-floor gallery at the prestigious institution on the nineteenth of October, making off with jewelry valued at approximately €88 million.
In a separate high-profile case, thieves last month forced their way into the French capital's Natural History Museum, making off with gold samples estimated at exceeding $1M. A 24-year-old Chinese woman was taken into custody recently in Barcelona, Spain in relation to the burglary, according to legal authorities.
The sequence of heists has sparked worry in the nation regarding lax security at museums and various establishments holding high-value objects.