Six Individuals Detained After €12M Heist on Precious Metals Facility in the French Republic

Six armed perpetrators carrying high-powered firearms used explosive devices to breach the security of a precious metals processing plant located in the city of Lyon, slightly injuring five staff members during what is being called the latest high-profile daytime heist to hit the country.

The daring raid occurred on Thursday late morning, with officers quickly arresting the suspected perpetrators and recovering the stolen goods estimated to be worth €12M (£10.5M), as stated by authorities.

Five workers of the precious metals facility sustained minor injuries from the blast, and three employees were taken to a medical facility for assessment, officials confirmed. A total of twenty-eight staff were at the location when the robbers attacked.

The individuals, believed to be career criminals, were taken into custody a brief time later in the adjacent municipality of Vénissieux, France, a source close to the investigation stated.

A female participant who participated in the robbery was also apprehended, according to law enforcement.

“Six people who employed explosive devices in an attack on a precious metals company in Lyon, France were apprehended red-handed,” France's security official stated online, lauding police for their “quick action, authority and management”.

Assault rifles, handguns and explosives were recovered as well.

The raid happened as law enforcement in France on that Thursday detained five further people, including a primary suspect, in relation to this month's brazen Louvre museum robbery.

Many investigative personnel have been pursuing four thieves who utilized a lorry equipped with a moving lift and cutting gear to breach a first-floor gallery at the prestigious institution on 19 October, fleeing with precious items estimated to be worth €88M.

In a separate high-profile case, robbers the previous month entered illegally the Natural History Museum in Paris, taking gold specimens valued at more than one million dollars. A young Chinese female was apprehended in the current month in Barcelona in regarding the theft, officials confirmed.

This series of robberies has sparked worry in the country regarding lax security at cultural venues and other facilities holding high-value objects.