The bars were found concealed in specially stitched jackets with pouches worn by the burqa-clad women.
In the biggest gold haul at an Indian airport, 20 gold bars valued at Rs 5.8 crore were seized early today from two women passengers from Dubai.
On the basis of specific information, a team of officers of the Customs Preventive unit conducted the seizure, a customs release said.
The women, hailing from Thrissur and Kozhikode, had arrived in Kochi early today by an Emirates flight.
They had departed from Kochi to Dubai six days ago.
The bars, weighing 20 kg, were found concealed in specially stitched jackets with pouches worn by the burqa-clad women.
The extent of customs duty sought to be evaded worked out to Rs 60 lakh, the release said.
The seizure is the largest in the recent history of gold smuggling cases detected in the country, the release said.
Prior to this seizure, a total quantity of 23 kg of gold bars worth about Rs six crore had been seized by customs in the last few months.