Six Suspects Apprehended Following 12 Million Euro Robbery on Gold Refining Lab in the French Republic

Six armed perpetrators equipped with military-grade weapons used explosive devices to break into a precious metals processing plant located in the city of Lyon, causing light wounds to five employees during described as the latest high-profile broad daylight robbery to affect France.

The daring raid was carried out on Thursday late morning, with police forces swiftly apprehending the alleged criminals and securing the stolen items assessed at around 12 million euros (£10.5 million), as stated by authorities.

Five workers of Laboratoires Pourquery received light wounds from the blast, and three of them required hospital checks for examination, officials confirmed. A total of twenty-eight staff were inside the facility when the thieves struck.

The individuals, believed to be experienced criminals, were arrested a brief time later in the nearby town of Vénissieux, according to investigative sources.

A female accomplice who participated in the raid was taken into custody as well, according to law enforcement.

“Six people who used detonations in an assault targeting a precious metals company in Lyon, France were arrested at the scene,” the nation's interior minister declared on social media, praising officers for their “firmness, rapid response and command”.

Assault rifles, handguns and explosives were likewise seized.

The robbery occurred as French police on that Thursday arrested five more suspects, among them a key figure, in connection with this month's brazen Louvre museum robbery.

Many investigative personnel have been pursuing four thieves who used a vehicle equipped with a moving lift and cutting tools to breach a first-floor gallery at the museum on October 19th, fleeing with precious items estimated to be worth €88 million.

In a separate high-profile case, robbers the previous month entered illegally the French capital's Natural History Museum, stealing gold samples valued at more than one million dollars. A woman from China, aged 24 was arrested earlier this month in Barcelona, Spain in regarding the theft, prosecutors stated.

The sequence of heists has raised concerns in the country regarding insufficient protection at cultural venues and other facilities containing precious artifacts.