Six Arrested Following €12M Armed Raid on Precious Metals Facility in the French Republic

Six armed perpetrators equipped with assault rifles and handguns detonated charges to break into a precious metals processing plant located in Lyon, slightly injuring five employees during described as the newest significant broad daylight robbery to affect France.

The daring raid took place on the afternoon of Thursday, with police forces rapidly detaining the alleged criminals and recovering the stolen goods estimated to be worth €12 million (£10.5 million), according to officials.

Five workers of the precious metals facility received light wounds due to the explosion, and three employees required hospital checks for examination, according to regional authorities. A total of twenty-eight staff were at the location when the thieves struck.

Those arrested, believed to be seasoned offenders, were detained a brief time later in the nearby town of Vénissieux, France, authorities revealed.

A female participant who participated in the raid was likewise arrested, officers confirmed.

“Six individuals who used detonations in a raid against a metals processing plant in Lyon, France were caught in the act,” France's security official stated online, praising officers for their “firmness, rapid response and command”.

Military-style weapons, pistols and explosive materials were also confiscated.

The raid happened as law enforcement in France on that Thursday detained five further people, among them a key figure, in relation to the bold Louvre museum robbery.

Many investigative personnel have been hunting four perpetrators who utilized a lorry featuring an elevating platform and cutting equipment to break into an upper-level exhibition space at the museum on 19 October, escaping with ornaments assessed at around 88 million euros.

In a separate high-profile case, burglars recently broke into the Parisian museum of natural history, making off with gold samples valued at more than one million dollars. A young Chinese female was taken into custody recently in the city of Barcelona in connection with the break-in, prosecutors stated.

The string of thefts has raised concerns in the country regarding lax security at museums and other institutions holding high-value objects.