Six Individuals Detained After 12 Million Euro Armed Raid on Gold Refining Lab in the French Republic

A group of six individuals using high-powered firearms used explosive devices to breach the security of a gold refining laboratory located in Lyon, France, causing light wounds to five employees during what is being called the latest high-profile daylight theft to hit France.

The audacious robbery was carried out on Thursday late morning, with officers rapidly detaining the alleged criminals and securing the stolen items valued at approximately 12 million euros (£10.5 million), as stated by authorities.

Five workers of the gold refining company were slightly hurt due to the explosion, and three of them were transported to hospital for examination, officials confirmed. Twenty-eight employees were at the location when the perpetrators raided.

The individuals, believed to be seasoned offenders, were taken into custody shortly after the incident in the neighboring community of Vénissieux, according to investigative sources.

A woman involved involved in the robbery was likewise arrested, officers confirmed.

“Six people who used detonations in an attack on a gold refining facility in Lyon were arrested at the scene,” the nation's interior minister declared on social media, commending law enforcement for their “quick action, authority and management”.

Assault rifles, handguns and explosives were likewise seized.

The heist took place as authorities on the same day apprehended five additional individuals, among them a key figure, in regarding this month's brazen raid on the Louvre museum.

Dozens of investigators have been searching for four perpetrators who used a vehicle with a hydraulic lift and cutting gear to access a gallery on the first floor at the renowned museum on 19 October, escaping with ornaments assessed at around 88 million euros.

In a separate high-profile case, thieves last month forced their way into the Parisian museum of natural history, taking gold specimens estimated at exceeding $1M. A woman from China, aged 24 was taken into custody recently in the city of Barcelona in regarding the theft, officials confirmed.

The string of thefts has generated apprehension in France regarding insufficient protection at museums and other institutions holding high-value objects.