Six Individuals Detained After €12M Robbery on Gold Refining Lab in France
A team of six suspects carrying military-grade weapons detonated charges to breach the security of a gold refining laboratory located in Lyon, France, slightly injuring five staff members during described as the newest significant daytime heist to affect France.
The audacious robbery occurred on the afternoon of Thursday, with officers quickly arresting the individuals believed responsible and retrieving the loot estimated to be worth €12M (£10.5 million), officials reported.
Five workers of Laboratoires Pourquery were slightly hurt as a result of the detonation, and three individuals were transported to hospital for examination, the regional prefecture announced. Twenty-eight employees were inside the facility when the thieves struck.
Those arrested, thought to be seasoned offenders, were detained shortly after the incident in the nearby town of VĂ©nissieux, France, according to investigative sources.
A female accomplice who participated in the heist was also apprehended, officers confirmed.
“Six suspects who utilized explosives in a raid against a gold refining facility in Lyon were caught in the act,” France's security official stated online, commending law enforcement for their “decisiveness, speed and control”.
Military-style weapons, pistols and explosive materials were likewise seized.
The raid happened as law enforcement in France on Thursday detained five further people, among them a key figure, in relation to the bold raid on the Louvre museum.
Many investigative personnel have been pursuing four thieves who employed a truck equipped with a moving lift and cutting gear to access a gallery on the first floor at the renowned museum on 19 October, fleeing with jewelry valued at approximately €88 million.
In another notable incident, robbers the previous month forced their way into the French capital's Natural History Museum, taking gold specimens valued at more than one million dollars. A 24-year-old Chinese woman was arrested earlier this month in Barcelona in relation to the burglary, according to legal authorities.
The string of thefts has generated apprehension in the country regarding insufficient protection at museums and other institutions housing valuable items.
