Six Suspects Apprehended After 12 Million Euro Heist on Gold Refining Lab in France
A group of six individuals carrying assault rifles and handguns detonated charges to force entry into a precious metals processing plant located in the city of Lyon, slightly injuring five workers during described as the newest significant daylight theft to affect the country.
The audacious robbery occurred on Thursday late morning, with police forces rapidly detaining the alleged criminals and recovering the stolen goods assessed at around €12M (£10.5M), officials reported.
Five staff members of Laboratoires Pourquery were slightly hurt due to the explosion, and three individuals were taken to a medical facility for assessment, the regional prefecture announced. A total of twenty-eight staff were at the location when the robbers attacked.
The suspects, believed to be seasoned offenders, were arrested soon afterwards in the neighboring community of the town of VĂ©nissieux, authorities revealed.
A female participant who took part in the robbery was also apprehended, according to law enforcement.
“Six individuals who utilized explosives in a raid against a metals processing plant in Lyon, France were apprehended red-handed,” France's security official stated online, praising officers for their “decisiveness, speed and control”.
Assault rifles, handguns and explosives were likewise seized.
The raid happened as authorities on that Thursday arrested five more suspects, among them a key figure, in regarding the bold raid on the Louvre museum.
Many investigative personnel have been pursuing four perpetrators who used a vehicle featuring an elevating platform and cutting tools to break into an upper-level exhibition space at the museum on October 19th, making off with ornaments assessed at around €88 million.
In a separate high-profile case, robbers the previous month entered illegally the Natural History Museum in Paris, stealing gold samples valued at more than one million dollars. A 24-year-old Chinese woman was arrested earlier this month in Barcelona, Spain in connection with the break-in, according to legal authorities.
The sequence of heists has generated apprehension in the country regarding lax security at cultural venues and other facilities containing precious artifacts.
