Six Suspects Apprehended After 12 Million Euro Robbery on Precious Metals Facility in France
A team of six suspects equipped with military-grade weapons employed explosives to break into a precious metals processing plant located in Lyon, France, resulting in minor injuries to five staff members during what appears to be the latest high-profile daylight theft to affect the nation.
The audacious robbery took place on Thursday late morning, with police forces swiftly apprehending the alleged criminals and recovering the stolen goods valued at approximately €12M (10.5 million pounds), officials reported.
Five staff members of Laboratoires Pourquery sustained minor injuries from the blast, and three employees required hospital checks for examination, according to regional authorities. Twenty-eight workers were inside the facility when the robbers attacked.
Those arrested, believed to be experienced criminals, were arrested soon afterwards in the neighboring community of VĂ©nissieux, a source close to the investigation stated.
A female participant who participated in the robbery was likewise arrested, officers confirmed.
“Six suspects who used detonations in a raid against a gold refining facility in Lyon were arrested at the scene,” the French interior minister announced via X, lauding police for their “firmness, rapid response and command”.
Assault rifles, handguns and explosives were also confiscated.
The robbery occurred as authorities on the same day detained five further people, featuring a main perpetrator, in regarding this month's brazen theft at the Louvre.
Numerous detectives have been pursuing four perpetrators who used a vehicle with a hydraulic lift and cutting gear to breach a first-floor gallery at the prestigious institution on October 19th, fleeing with ornaments assessed at around 88 million euros.
In a different significant robbery, burglars recently broke into the Natural History Museum in Paris, taking gold specimens valued at more than one million dollars. A young Chinese female was arrested earlier this month in Barcelona, Spain in regarding the theft, according to legal authorities.
The sequence of heists has raised concerns in the country regarding insufficient protection at museums and other institutions containing precious artifacts.
