Six Arrested After €12 Million Armed Raid on Gold Processing Laboratory in the French Republic
A group of six individuals equipped with military-grade weapons detonated charges to break into a gold treatment facility located in the city of Lyon, resulting in minor injuries to five workers during described as the newest significant daytime heist to occur in France.
The bold operation took place on Thursday afternoon, with law enforcement authorities rapidly detaining the suspected perpetrators and securing the stolen items estimated to be worth €12M (10.5 million pounds), as stated by authorities.
Five staff members of Laboratoires Pourquery were slightly hurt as a result of the detonation, and three employees required hospital checks for examination, the regional prefecture announced. Twenty-eight workers were present on-site when the robbers attacked.
The individuals, thought to be experienced criminals, were detained shortly after the incident in the neighboring community of Vénissieux, a source close to the investigation stated.
A female accomplice who took part in the raid was also apprehended, officers confirmed.
“Six individuals who employed explosive devices in a raid against a metals processing plant in Lyon were apprehended red-handed,” the French interior minister announced via X, lauding police for their “quick action, authority and management”.
High-caliber firearms, handguns and detonation devices were likewise seized.
The robbery occurred as law enforcement in France on that Thursday detained five further people, featuring a main perpetrator, in regarding the bold theft at the Louvre.
Many investigative personnel have been pursuing four robbers who utilized a lorry equipped with a moving lift and cutting equipment to access a gallery on the first floor at the renowned museum on the nineteenth of October, escaping with jewelry valued at approximately €88M.
In another notable incident, thieves last month forced their way 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 apprehended in the current month in Barcelona, Spain in relation to the burglary, prosecutors stated.
This series of robberies has raised concerns in the nation regarding inadequate security measures at museums and various establishments housing valuable items.