Six people armed with military-grade weapons used explosives to break into a gold refining laboratory in Lyon, slightly injuring five workers in the latest high-profile daytime robbery to hit France.
The daring raid in the eastern city took place on Thursday afternoon, with police quickly arresting the suspected perpetrators and recovering the loot estimated at €12 million, officials said.
Five employees of Laboratoires Pourquery were “slightly injured in the explosion” and three were taken to hospital for checks, the regional prefecture told AFP.
When the robbers struck, 28 employees were present.
The suspects, believed to be hardened criminals, were arrested shortly afterwards in the neighboring town of Venissieux, a source close to the case told AFP.
A woman, an accomplice who took part in the robbery, was also arrested, a police source told AFP.
“Six people who used explosives in an attack on a precious metals company in Lyon were caught red-handed,” Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on X, praising the officers for their “determination, speed and control.”
Assault rifles, pistols and explosives were also seized.
The robbery came as French police arrested another five people on Thursday, including a prime suspect, over this month’s brazen robbery of the Louvre museum.
Dozens of detectives have been hunting for four thieves who used a truck with a moving lift and cutting equipment to break into a gallery on the museum’s first floor on Oct. 19. They fled with jewelry worth an estimated $102 million.
In another high-profile burglary, thieves broke into the French capital’s Natural History Museum last month and made off with gold samples worth more than $1 million.
A 24-year-old Chinese woman was arrested in Barcelona earlier this month over the burglary and theft, prosecutors said.
The series of robberies has raised concerns about inadequate security at museums and other places where valuable objects are kept.
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