Six Arrested Following 12 Million Euro Heist on Gold Refining Lab in France
A group of six individuals equipped with high-powered firearms detonated charges to breach the security of a gold treatment facility located in Lyon, France, slightly injuring five employees during what appears to be the latest high-profile daytime heist to hit the country.
The daring raid took place on Thursday late morning, with officers swiftly apprehending the alleged criminals and retrieving the loot assessed at around 12 million euros (ÂŁ10.5M), as stated by authorities.
Five staff members of Laboratoires Pourquery sustained minor injuries from the blast, and three employees were taken to a medical facility for examination, officials confirmed. Twenty-eight workers were inside the facility when the robbers attacked.
The suspects, considered seasoned offenders, were detained a brief time later in the nearby town of VĂ©nissieux, France, according to investigative sources.
A female participant who took part in the heist was taken into custody as well, a police source indicated.
“Six people who employed explosive devices in an attack on a gold refining facility in Lyon were caught in the act,” the French interior minister announced via X, commending law enforcement for their “decisiveness, speed and control”.
Assault rifles, handguns and explosives were also confiscated.
The heist took place as law enforcement in France on the same day detained five further people, including a primary suspect, in connection with the recent audacious theft at the Louvre.
Numerous detectives have been searching for four robbers who utilized a lorry with a hydraulic lift and cutting equipment to break into an upper-level exhibition space at the prestigious institution on 19 October, making off with precious items estimated to be worth €88 million.
In a different significant robbery, robbers the previous month forced their way into the French capital's Natural History Museum, stealing gold samples estimated at exceeding $1M. A young Chinese female was taken into custody recently in Barcelona, Spain in connection with the break-in, prosecutors stated.
This series of robberies has generated apprehension in France regarding inadequate security measures at cultural venues and other facilities containing precious artifacts.
