France hit by second daring heist after thieves target gold refinery

Six suspects have been arrested near the French city of Lyon in connection with the country’s latest brazen robbery.

Thieves used explosives to break into a precious metals refinery on Thursday before making off with the loot, which was mostly gold and worth 12 million euros (£10.5 million, $13.8 million).

After a chase, police captured the suspects and returned the capture, officials said.

The robbery came next five more people were arrested for a theft at the Louvre museum in Paris earlier this month.

In the Lyon incident, footage posted on social media by people living near the facility showed two men near a white van. A man could be seen placing a ladder over the company’s fence before scaling it.

Another video shows a thief carrying a gun and opening the back door of the van while another loads briefcases into the vehicle.

An unnamed neighbor told AFP she heard a large explosion. “It was really impressive,” she said.

Five employees of Pourquery Laboratories suffered minor injuries in the explosion, officials told AFP.

A woman was also among those detained after the chase. Assault rifles and explosives were also seized, the police said.

Meanwhile, the latest arrests over the Louvre robbery in Paris bring the number of people in custody to seven.

On October 19, four suspects used a mechanical lift to gain access to the Apollo Museum Gallery in broad daylight.

They smashed display cases containing the crown jewels with a disc knife and made off with €88m (£76m; $102m) worth of items.

Police said three of the thieves were among those arrested. Police are still looking for the fourth.