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

A team of six suspects using military-grade weapons detonated charges to breach the security of a precious metals processing plant located in Lyon, causing light wounds to five staff members during what is being called the newest significant broad daylight robbery to hit the nation.

The bold operation was carried out on Thursday late morning, with police forces quickly arresting the suspected perpetrators and securing the stolen items assessed at around 12 million euros (10.5 million pounds), officials reported.

Five workers of the precious metals facility received light wounds due to the explosion, and three employees required hospital checks for evaluation, according to regional authorities. Twenty-eight workers were present on-site when the perpetrators raided.

Those arrested, believed to be career criminals, were taken into custody a brief time later in the adjacent municipality of Vénissieux, France, authorities revealed.

A female participant who took part in the heist was likewise arrested, according to law enforcement.

“Six individuals who used detonations in a raid against a metals processing plant in Lyon were arrested at the scene,” the nation's interior minister declared on social media, praising officers for their “firmness, rapid response and command”.

High-caliber firearms, handguns and detonation devices were recovered as well.

The robbery occurred as French police on the same day arrested five more suspects, featuring a main perpetrator, in connection with the bold Louvre museum robbery.

Many investigative personnel have been hunting four thieves who employed a truck with a hydraulic lift and cutting equipment to breach a first-floor gallery at the prestigious institution on 19 October, making off with jewelry valued at approximately 88 million euros.

In a separate high-profile case, thieves last month entered illegally the Natural History Museum in Paris, taking gold specimens estimated at exceeding $1M. A young Chinese female was apprehended in the current month in the city of Barcelona in relation to the burglary, according to legal authorities.

The sequence of heists has sparked worry in the nation regarding insufficient protection at cultural venues and other facilities holding high-value objects.