Sydney: A man was arrested here and appeared in court on Wednesday over charges that he sold hundreds of golden Buddha statues and ingots which were actually made from copper, police said.

New South Wales (NSW) police arrested the man after a woman who had purchased statues from him discovered that they were gold-painted ones made from copper, Xinhua reported.

She complained to police, who were able to track down the man, 35, to an inner city apartment, NSW police announced on Wednesday.

During their search, police seized eight Buddha statues and 100 replica gold ingots, all made from fake gold. Also recovered were five mobile phones, cash in various currencies and photocopies of allegedly false passport identities.

(IANS)