Four women were apprehended by a team from the custom department’s Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) on Sunday for trying to sneak in about 945.5g of 24 carat gold jewellery into the country. The jewellery was plated with rhodium to conceal the yellow metal and had a market price of Rs 1.52 crore, officials said.

“Based on suspicious baggage scanning images, AIU officers conducted a thorough examination of a group of passengers arriving from Jeddah to Ahmedabad. During the examination, four female passengers were found to have concealed seven gold chains and seven gold bangles, totalling 945.57g, of 24 Kt purity,” a customs department’s release about the seizure stated.

Officials said that the plating could have been done to evade scrutiny. Investigators said that the gold has been allegedly given to the women by a travel agent, who too was accompanying them. The gold has been seized under the Customs Act, 1962, and further probe is on, officials added.