A group of six individuals equipped with high-powered firearms detonated charges to breach the security of a gold refining laboratory located in Lyon, France, slightly injuring five employees during described as the most recent prominent daylight theft to hit France.
The bold operation occurred on Thursday late morning, with law enforcement authorities swiftly apprehending the suspected perpetrators and securing the stolen items valued at approximately €12M (£10.5 million), according to officials.
Five workers of Laboratoires Pourquery received light wounds from the blast, and three of them required hospital checks for evaluation, according to regional authorities. A total of twenty-eight staff were inside the facility when the robbers attacked.
The individuals, considered career criminals, were arrested shortly after the incident in the neighboring community of Vénissieux, France, authorities revealed.
A female accomplice involved in the raid was also apprehended, according to law enforcement.
“Six people who utilized explosives in an assault targeting a precious metals company in Lyon, France were arrested at the scene,” France's security official announced via X, commending law enforcement for their “firmness, rapid response and command”.
Military-style weapons, pistols and explosive materials were also confiscated.
The raid happened as French police on the same day detained five further people, including a primary suspect, in relation to this month's brazen raid on the Louvre museum.
Dozens of investigators have been pursuing four thieves who used a vehicle with a hydraulic lift and cutting equipment to breach a first-floor gallery at the prestigious institution on October 19th, fleeing with jewelry valued at approximately 88 million euros.
In a different significant robbery, burglars recently broke into the Natural History Museum in Paris, making off with gold samples estimated at exceeding $1M. A young Chinese female was apprehended in the current month in Barcelona, Spain in regarding the theft, prosecutors stated.
The string of thefts has generated apprehension in the country regarding insufficient protection at cultural venues and other facilities housing valuable items.
