A team of six suspects equipped with military-grade weapons used explosive devices to breach the security of a precious metals processing plant located in Lyon, France, slightly injuring five staff members during described as the latest high-profile broad daylight robbery to occur in France.
The daring raid occurred on the afternoon of Thursday, with police forces swiftly apprehending the suspected perpetrators and retrieving the loot valued at approximately €12 million (£10.5M), officials reported.
Five workers of Laboratoires Pourquery sustained minor injuries from the blast, and three individuals were taken to a medical facility for assessment, the regional prefecture announced. Twenty-eight workers were present on-site when the thieves struck.
The suspects, thought to be seasoned offenders, were taken into custody soon afterwards in the nearby town of Vénissieux, France, authorities revealed.
A woman involved who took part in the heist was likewise arrested, a police source indicated.
“Six suspects who used detonations in an attack on a precious metals company in Lyon, France were arrested at the scene,” the French interior minister declared on social media, lauding police for their “quick action, authority and management”.
Military-style weapons, pistols and explosive materials were recovered as well.
The raid happened as French police on Thursday apprehended five additional individuals, including a primary suspect, in relation to this month's brazen theft at the Louvre.
Many investigative personnel have been searching for four perpetrators who utilized a lorry equipped with a moving lift and cutting tools to access a gallery on the first floor at the renowned museum on 19 October, making off with precious items estimated to be worth €88 million.
In a separate high-profile case, robbers the previous month broke into the Natural History Museum in Paris, making off with gold samples worth over $1 million. A woman from China, aged 24 was arrested earlier this month in the city of Barcelona in relation to the burglary, according to legal authorities.
The sequence of heists has raised concerns in France regarding insufficient protection at cultural venues and other facilities containing precious artifacts.
