French police recover USD32m in precious metals after gold lab heist

LYON: Armed robbers who used explosives to break into a gold refining laboratory in Lyon last week made off with metals worth USD32 million, all of which police recovered shortly afterwards, a French prosecutor said Monday.

The audacious raid in the eastern city took place on Thursday last week, with police swiftly arresting the suspected perpetrators and seizing 306 kilograms (675 pounds) of precious metals, mostly gold.

Six people — five men and one woman, aged from 30 to 40 — were detained shortly after the incident at Pourquery Laboratories, Lyon prosecutor Thierry Dran said during a Monday press conference.

“These are seasoned criminals,” he said. The five men have previous convictions, three of whom for armed robbery.

The woman, who has no criminal record, and one of the men denied involvement, while the other four remained silent during questioning, the prosecutor said.

Dran said he had requested they be charged with several offences, including criminal conspiracy and robbery with violence, and placed in pre-trial detention, though it was not immediately clear if all six would face the same charges.

Officials had initially valued the haul at USD13.8 million, but Dran said Monday its true worth was USD32 million — more than double that amount.

The attack at the gold lab is the latest in a string of thefts that have stoked concern about inadequate security at France’s museums and other places holding high-value items.