Six Suspects Apprehended Following 12 Million Euro Robbery on Gold Processing Laboratory in France
Six armed perpetrators equipped with high-powered firearms employed explosives to break into a precious metals processing plant located in Lyon, causing light wounds to five workers during what is being called the newest significant daylight theft to hit the nation.
The audacious robbery occurred on the afternoon of Thursday, with police forces quickly arresting the individuals believed responsible and recovering the stolen goods valued at approximately 12 million euros (ÂŁ10.5 million), as stated by authorities.
Five workers of the precious metals facility sustained minor injuries due to the explosion, and three individuals were transported to hospital for evaluation, the regional prefecture announced. A total of twenty-eight staff were at the location when the robbers attacked.
The suspects, believed to be career criminals, were detained shortly after the incident in the nearby town of the town of VĂ©nissieux, authorities revealed.
A woman involved who participated in the raid was also apprehended, officers confirmed.
“Six suspects who used detonations in an assault targeting a metals processing plant in Lyon were caught in the act,” the French interior minister stated online, lauding police for their “firmness, rapid response and command”.
Military-style weapons, pistols and explosive materials were also confiscated.
The robbery occurred as French police on Thursday apprehended five additional individuals, among them a key figure, in relation to the bold Louvre museum robbery.
Dozens of investigators have been hunting four perpetrators who utilized a lorry with a hydraulic lift and cutting equipment to break into an upper-level exhibition space at the museum on the nineteenth of October, fleeing with ornaments assessed at around €88 million.
In a separate high-profile case, burglars recently entered illegally the French capital's Natural History Museum, making off with gold samples valued at more than one million dollars. A woman from China, aged 24 was arrested earlier this month in Barcelona in connection with the break-in, officials confirmed.
The string of thefts has generated apprehension in the country regarding lax security at cultural venues and other facilities containing precious artifacts.
