Six Suspects Apprehended After €12M Armed Raid on Precious Metals Facility in the French Republic

A group of six individuals equipped with military-grade weapons employed explosives to force entry into a precious metals processing plant located in Lyon, resulting in minor injuries to five staff members during described as the latest high-profile daylight theft to affect the nation.

The bold operation was carried out on Thursday late morning, with officers swiftly apprehending the suspected perpetrators and securing the stolen items estimated to be worth €12M (10.5 million pounds), officials reported.

Five staff members of the precious metals facility were slightly hurt due to the explosion, and three of them were taken to a medical facility for evaluation, according to regional authorities. Twenty-eight workers were present on-site when the thieves struck.

Those arrested, believed to be experienced criminals, were detained a brief time later in the neighboring community of Vénissieux, according to investigative sources.

A woman involved who took part in the heist was also apprehended, officers confirmed.

“Six people who utilized explosives in a raid against a precious metals company in the Lyon area were arrested at the scene,” the nation's interior minister declared on social media, praising officers for their “quick action, authority and management”.

High-caliber firearms, handguns and detonation devices were also confiscated.

The raid happened as law enforcement in France on the same day arrested five more suspects, including a primary suspect, in relation to this month's brazen Louvre museum robbery.

Dozens of investigators have been hunting four robbers who utilized a lorry with a hydraulic lift and cutting equipment to access a gallery on the first floor at the renowned museum on the nineteenth of October, fleeing with jewelry valued at approximately €88M.

In a separate high-profile case, thieves last month broke into the French capital's Natural History Museum, making off with gold samples valued at more than one million dollars. A 24-year-old Chinese woman was apprehended in the current month in Barcelona, Spain in connection with the break-in, prosecutors stated.

This series of robberies has raised concerns in the nation regarding inadequate security measures at museums and various establishments holding high-value objects.