Six Individuals Detained After 12 Million Euro Armed Raid on Gold Processing Laboratory in the French Republic
A team of six suspects equipped with assault rifles and handguns employed explosives to breach the security of a gold treatment facility located in Lyon, France, resulting in minor injuries to five workers during what appears to be the newest significant broad daylight robbery to affect the country.
The bold operation took place on Thursday afternoon, with police forces swiftly apprehending the individuals believed responsible and recovering the stolen goods assessed at around €12M (£10.5M), according to officials.
Five workers of the gold refining company were slightly hurt from the blast, and three employees were transported to hospital for examination, officials confirmed. Twenty-eight workers were at the location when the perpetrators raided.
The individuals, thought to be experienced criminals, were detained soon afterwards in the adjacent municipality of VĂ©nissieux, France, according to investigative sources.
A woman involved who participated in the robbery was taken into custody as well, according to law enforcement.
“Six individuals who used detonations in a raid against a metals processing plant in Lyon, France were apprehended red-handed,” the French interior minister stated online, praising officers for their “decisiveness, speed and control”.
Assault rifles, handguns and explosives were recovered as well.
The robbery occurred as authorities on Thursday apprehended five additional individuals, featuring a main perpetrator, in relation to the bold Louvre museum robbery.
Numerous detectives have been searching for four thieves who employed a truck equipped with a moving lift and cutting equipment to break into an upper-level exhibition space at the renowned museum on October 19th, fleeing with precious items estimated to be worth €88 million.
In another notable incident, burglars recently broke into the French capital's Natural History Museum, taking gold specimens valued at more than one million dollars. A young Chinese female was taken into custody recently in Barcelona, Spain in connection with the break-in, according to legal authorities.
The sequence of heists has generated apprehension in the country regarding inadequate security measures at museums and various establishments housing valuable items.
