Six Suspects Apprehended Following €12 Million Heist on Precious Metals Facility in France

A group of six individuals carrying assault rifles and handguns used explosive devices to break into a precious metals processing plant located in Lyon, France, slightly injuring five employees during what is being called the newest significant daytime heist to hit France.

The audacious robbery was carried out on Thursday afternoon, with police forces quickly arresting the individuals believed responsible and recovering the stolen goods estimated to be worth €12 million (10.5 million pounds), according to officials.

Five workers of the precious metals facility received light wounds due to the explosion, and three individuals were transported to hospital for evaluation, officials confirmed. Twenty-eight workers were inside the facility when the perpetrators raided.

The suspects, believed to be seasoned offenders, were detained soon afterwards in the neighboring community of Vénissieux, France, according to investigative sources.

A female accomplice who participated in the heist was taken into custody as well, according to law enforcement.

“Six suspects who used detonations in an assault targeting a metals processing plant in the Lyon area were caught in the act,” the nation's interior minister declared on social media, praising officers for their “decisiveness, speed and control”.

High-caliber firearms, handguns and detonation devices were likewise seized.

The raid happened as French police on Thursday arrested five more suspects, featuring a main perpetrator, in connection with the bold Louvre museum robbery.

Dozens of investigators have been hunting four perpetrators who utilized a lorry featuring an elevating platform and cutting gear to access a gallery on the first floor at the prestigious institution on 19 October, making off with precious items estimated to be worth 88 million euros.

In a separate high-profile case, robbers the previous month broke into the Natural History Museum in Paris, making off with gold samples valued at more than one million dollars. A 24-year-old Chinese woman was taken into custody recently in Barcelona in regarding the theft, according to legal authorities.

This series of robberies has generated apprehension in the country regarding insufficient protection at cultural venues and other facilities holding high-value objects.